Pain is highly un desirable, but without it, there would be no way of knowing “something has gone wrong” (Myers 261), which has the potential to lead to even greater suffering. Many ways to control pain exist; however, the vast majority of them require the use of opiates such as morphine. The downside to using drugs as analgesia’s is the potential negatives side effects. An alternative option is the virtual-reality pain control, an analgesia with no known negative side effects. Distraction is an effective form of pain control as it pulls a patients focus to something other than the pain that a patient is experiencing, lessening the effects of pain itself. Pain is felt primarily in the brain, so if the brain is preoccupied with other things, it will not be able to experience pain to the same extent. A common example of this is when a child goes to a doctor’s office to get a vaccination. The nurse is likely to draw the child’s attention to another object and carry a conversation unrelated to the situation they are currently experiencing. While the child is not expecting it, the nurse will then give them the shot. …show more content…
An immersive virtual-reality system relies on drawing the patient’s attention into a virtual world. It is similar to video games, but has proven to be much more effective as it allows the participant to be fully occupied with the 3-D world, and interact with the environment around them. It includes “a helmet or head-mounted display that delivers high-resolution, 3D sights and sounds, head- and/or limb-tracking hardware, and specialized software to render an interactive virtual environment” (Sharar et al). Rather than acting directly on receptors in the nervous system, virtual-reality modifies the awareness of pain. It draws the patient’s concentration away from the painful experience and towards the pleasant virtual experience. This form of treatment is mainly used for relief in burn
In medical school/pharmacology school, medical professionals are taught to treat severe pain with opioids. However, opioids should be prescribed with the possibility of future dependency in mind. Physicians often struggle with whether they should prescribe opioids or seek alternative methodologies. This ethical impasse has led may medical professionals to prescribe opioids out of sympathy, without regard for the possibility of addiction (Clarke). As previously stated, a way to address this is use alternative methods so that physicians will become more acquainted to not not treating pain by means of opioid
An ethical dilemma that is currently happening in the medical field regards pain management. Doctors and other medical professionals are faced with this ethical decision on whether to prescribe strong pain medication to patients who claim to be experiencing pain, or to not in skepticism that the patient is lying to get opioids and other strong medications. “Opioids are drugs that act on the nervous system to relieve pain. Continued use and abuse can lead to physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms,” (Drug Free World Online). Opioids are often prescribed to patients experiencing excruciating pain, but doctors are faced with prescribing these drugs as an ethical issue because only a patient can measure the pain they are in, it is simply impossible
Almost one hundred years ago, prescription drugs like morphine were available at almost any general store. Women carried bottles of very addictive potent opiate based pain killers in their purse. Many individuals like Edgar Allen Poe died from such addictions. Since that time through various federal, state and local laws, drugs like morphine are now prescription drugs; however, this has not stopped the addiction to opiate based pain killers. Today’s society combats an ever increasing number of very deadly addictive drugs from designer drugs to narcotics to the less potent but equally destructive alcohol and marijuana. With all of these new and old drugs going in and out of vogue with addicts, it appears that the increase of misuse and abuse is founded greater in the prescription opiate based painkillers.
Hypnosis can be defined as a form of highly focused concentration with relative suspension perplexed awareness used to lessen pain experience. (King.B, 2001) It can also be used alongside analgesics such as morphine. (Bamford.C, 2006) This paper will be discussing the effectiveness of its use to manage pain and related areas based on the benefits and limitations highlighted by various methodologies. These methodologies include decade long observations of case studies, testing on amputees and cancer patients whilst comparing use of pharmacological medicines to use of hypnosis itself. Some of the advantages of hypnosis include how it increases self efficacy by actively allowing patient to control pain symptoms, (Williamson.A, 2004) compliments and in some cases lessens the need to take pharmacological medicines. It lessens anxiety and depression in patients with chronic pain or terminal illnesses while enhancing the function of the immune system. (Liosso.C, 2001)All these benefits are however undermined by the process’s lack of effect on activity level or physical quality of life, (Liosso.C, 2001) the existence of individual differences in hypnotic responsibility and the fact that the effects of hypnosis achievable in non hypnotic social situation context (Brian.R.V, 2010). Nonetheless, just as the effectiveness of other methods of pain management varies due to issues such as genetic makeup, hypnosis is more effective on some individuals than it is on others. Case studies have proven its success on its own and in some cases combined with pharmacological medicine. It is therefore better to compliment what is already available than reject it due to its psychologically driven success aspect.
Institute of Medicine Report from the Committee on Advancing Pain Research, Care and Education. (2011). Relieving Pain in America A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education and Research. Retrieved from http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?records_13172
Assessing and managing pain is an inevitable part of nursing and the care of patients. Incomplete relief of pain remains prevalent despite years of research due to barriers such as lack of kn...
Pain is a complex and subjective phenomenon that involves biological, psychological, social factors, and cultural. It is interpreted and perceived in the brain. Each individual responds differently to pain because every person has different pain thresholds and tolerances. According to Porth (2009), pai...
The gate control theory of pain states that non-painful input closes the "gates" to painful input, which prevents pain sensation from traveling to the central nervous system. Stimulation by non-noxious input is able to suppress pain (Melzack). The gate control theory of pain asserts that non-painful input closes the "gates" to painful input, which prevents pain sensation from traveling to the central nervous system. The human brain is the key component in the sensation of pain.
Conclusions. An adequate and clear understanding of the concept of pain and implementing interventions of pain treatment and management is essential in the clinical settings. Understanding the concept of pain is necessary for its relationships with other concepts that are related and similar to the pain experience for theory building. The in the end, understanding the concept of pain will ultimately benefit the patient and lead to better and approp...
The practice of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) has been around for approximately four decades now. During this time there have been improvements to the technology and the understanding of how to use this form of patient pain control; however, there continues to be concern related to the safety and efficacy of PCA. As this analysis proceeds it will briefly explain what PCA is and how it is used, then delve into the benefits and the safety issues surrounding PCA use as it pertains to the patient and the nurse. Some of the benefits of PCA include improved pain management, improved use of nursing resources, increased patient satisfaction, and reduced pulmonary issues (Hicks, Sikirica, Nelson, Schein & Cousins, 2008). Some of the safety issues surrounding PCA use include infusion pump programing errors, basal infusion dosing, and proxy errors when using PCA by proxy (Ladak, Chan, Easty, & Chagpar, 2007). Therefore, the purpose of this report is to examine the benefits and risks of patient-controlled analgesia and how it relates to nursing practice.
Physical therapy is always full of surprises, from new advancements in technology to new and improved therapeutic techniques. Although there are fun games and new technology that physical therapists can do with patients, the main struggle for physical therapists is to motivate their patients to complete their therapy exercises both in the clinic and in the outside world. This problem is very frustrating because the doctors who work at the clinic constantly push patients to complete their therapy so that they can heal; however, when patients are stubborn and reluctant to their treatment, yet constantly complain of pain, doctors must spend more time convincing them to do the therapy rather than completing the therapy itself.
The major concepts deduced from the hypothesis fall under three categories: (1) multimodal intervention, (2) attentive care, and (3) patient participation. Multimodal intervention includes the concepts of potent pain medication, pharmacological adjuvants, and non-pharmacological adjuvants. Attentive care relates to the assessment of pain and side effects and intervention along with reassessments. Patient participation includes goal setting and patient education. The resulting outcome of these three categories working together is the balance between analgesia and side effects.
Have you imagined a future, where people are able to improve both their mental and physical health not through the help of a therapist, but rather a Virtual Reality headset? This might not be a far away future, since more and more researches and experiments have been done over this area. Everyday, there are a tremendous amount of people suffer from mental disorders like anxiety and phobias, and from physical conditions like post-stroke condition and Intermittent Claudication. Naturally, most of them would want to ask psychotherapists or occupational therapists for help, and still, due to economic issues, social sigma and other possible reasons, not all of them will receive the aid they needed. With the assistance of modern technology, this
What does pain mean to you? Pain is a tense feeling that tells you something may be wrong. There’s physical pain- acute and or chronic, emotional pain, and also a phrase known as “pain in the ass”- which is where something or someone is being annoying and or troublesome.
Rizzo, A. (2005). Virtual reality exposure therapy. University of Southern California Institute of Creative Technologies. Retrieved from http://ict.usc.edu/prototypes/pts/