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What is Pain Management in Nursing in the UK? - Types and Guidelines

Nurse providing pain management care to a patient

Benefits of pain management in nursing? - A Guide

A pain management plan helps you handle different types and causes of pain. This can include medicine, medical procedures, therapy and alternative treatments. These plan helps people with long-lasting pain to feel better and increase their quality of life. 

What is pain management? 

Pain management helps you to control pain using medicine and procedures. Pain management specialists may suggest one or different methods to prevent or lessen your pain. You can get care at a pain clinic or a hospital. 

Pain is a very common symptom of many injuries and health issues you may face in your life. It can also come from treatments for these problems or be the main issue itself (called a pain disorder). Pain can be short-term and go away as you heal or last for months or years (chronic pain). 

Pain is complicated and everyone feels it in their own way. We cannot see pain and many people have "invisible" conditions that cause pain. These factors can make it so hard to ask for any help. You might worry that others won’t believe you or that your pain will never end. Remember it is important to get medical help. No one should have to deal with pain every day.

Explain who can benefit from pain management? 

Any individual with pain whether it is a short-term or long-term can benefit from pain management plan. A good plan will be able to help you handle pain no matter how long it lasts.  

Below are some of the most common conditions that lead to pain are: 

  •     Arthritis and injuries in muscles and joints. 
  •     Autoimmune conditions such as Crohn's disease and fibromyalgia. 
  •     Burns  
  •     Cancer
  •     Chronic pain conditions such as complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and central pain syndrome. 
  •     Causes of nerve pain such as pinched nerves and trigeminal neuralgia. 
  •     Migraines 

What are the two types of pain? 

Mainly there are two types of main.  

Acute pain- A normal reaction to an injury or medical issue. It begins quickly and usually it does not last long. Managing pain after surgery helps you to recover quickly and effectively. The acute pain services help hospital staff for managing patient's pain. It ensures that the advanced pain relief methods used are safe. 

It will last longer than expected for healing usually for more than 3 months. Chronic pain can happen after an injury or surgery. It can also appear without any reasons. In many cases of chronic pain it is believed that the body's pain system doesn't work correctly. So, it becomes overly sensitive and even make things like touch feel painful. The chronic pain clinic is an outpatient service for patients who have ongoing pain. 

What are the different ways which will help you to manage pain? 

 1) Home remedies for managing pain. 

You can ease your pain from muscle and soft tissue injuries at home. Talk to your doctor about the RICE method (rest, ice, compression and elevation). Using heat and cold therapy can also be helpful for the pain. 

Some lifestyle changes can help to reduce pain. If you're overweight your doctor will suggest to reaching and keeping a healthy weight. Eating healthy foods, drinking enough water, getting good sleep and managing stress can also help lessen pain. 

2) Physical and occupational therapy 

Physical therapy helps you to move your body better. It can be part of a general plan to manage pain or focused on treating a specific injury or health issue. 

Occupational therapy helps you to improve your ability to do everyday tasks. It teaches you how to move around or use tools so you can do your activities with less pain. 

3) Talk therapy for managing pain. 

Psychotherapy includes different methods to help you understand and change unhealthy feelings. It also helps you to understand unhealthy thoughts and actions. It can help you manage or change how you feel the pain. 

Since chronic pain can cause depression and anxiety your doctor might suggest talk therapy. Also they might suggest medication to help with your mental health as well. 

4) Additional medicine treatments for managing pain. 

Complementary medicine refers to treatments you might use alongside traditional Western medicine. Some types of complementary therapies that may help with pain include: 

  •     Massage therapy 
  •     Acupuncture 
  •     Biofeedback 
  •     Meditation  
  •     Yoga 
5) Medical procedures and tools to help manage pain. 

Different medical procedures can help manage pain. Some of these uses electrical stimulation of nerves or soft tissue to reduce pain. For example  

  •     Peripheral nerve stimulation. 
  •     Spinal cord stimulation 
  •     Radiofrequency ablation 

Explain what is pain management nursing? 

Pain management nursing is a specialized area of nursing focused on helping patients manage and relieve their pain. Pain management nursing is a specialty that helps improve patients' quality of life. It allows them to enjoy activities they love without being held back by pain. This can include medications, physical therapy and emotional support. 

What are the duties of pain management nursing? 

All the different responsibilities add up to variety of job duties that can be very different from what nurses encounter in other areas of nursing.  

  •     Checking and keeping track of how much pain patients are feeling. 
  •     Collaborating with doctors and other team members to develop a treatment plan. 
  •     Giving medications or helping to carry out other treatments. 
  •     Teaching patients and their families about ways to relieve pain. 
  •     Watching patients closely and taking steps to make sure that pain medications don’t lead to addiction. 
What are the pain medicines used in pain management? 

a) Aspirin - For short-term relief of fever and mild to moderate pain, like cramps or headaches. 

b) Paracetamol - Usually suggested as the first medicine to help with short-term pain. 

c) These medicines help reduce pain and lessen inflammation, like redness and swelling. 

d) Local anaesthetics - Used when nerves are easy to access. 

What are the benefits of pain management nursing?

  •     Pain management nurses enjoy building relationships with their patients over longer periods. 
  •     They can finish each day feeling like they are really helping their patients. 
  •     Helps avoid long-term issues related to untreated pain, like anxiety or depression. 

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