Pain Management Techniques for Older Adults.Saxon SV. Springfield, IL 62794-9265, Charles C Thomas, Publisher, 1991, hardback, 101 pp, $24.75. The theme of this text is pain management for the aging population. The author addresses present theories, treatment approaches, and physical and psychological factors influencing pain. The author supports a multimodal Two or more modes of operation. The term is used to refer to a myriad of functions and conditions in which two or more different methods, processes or forms of delivery are used. On the Web, it refers to asking for something one way and receiving the answer another; for example requesting treatment approach and includes separate chapters addressing cognitive-behavioral approaches, hypnosis hypnosis State that resembles sleep but is induced by a person (the hypnotist) whose suggestions are readily accepted by the subject. The hypnotized individual seems to respond in an uncritical, automatic fashion, ignoring aspects of the environment (e.g. , relaxation, biofeedback biofeedback, method for learning to increase one's ability to control biological responses, such as blood pressure, muscle tension, and heart rate. Sophisticated instruments are often used to measure physiological responses and make them apparent to the patient, who , imagery, cutaneous cutaneous /cu·ta·ne·ous/ (ku-ta´ne-us) pertaining to the skin. cu·ta·ne·ous adj. Of, relating to, or affecting the skin. Cutaneous Pertaining to the skin. stimulation, and medications. This book is an excellent source of information for clinicians, such as physical therapists, occupational therapists occupational therapist A person trained to help people manage daily activities of living–dressing, cooking, etc, and other activities that promote recovery and regaining vocational skills Salary $51K + 4% bonus. See ADL. , psychologists, social workers, and physicians who are new to the area of pain management. It could also be a good review text for more experienced clinicians. The introductory chapter addresses age-related changes, and chapter 2 presents theories of pain, such as the specificity model, gate control theory, neuroregulatot theories, learning theory, and the interactive model. Chapter 3 reviews aspects of pain to be evaluated by the clinician. These include acute versus chronic pain, mechanisms of pain, behavioral characteristics of persons in pain, dysthymic dysthymic /dys·thy·mic/ (-thi´mik) characterized by symptoms of mild depression. pain, and misconceptions about pain. Chapter 4 addresses pain centers and gross assessment and treatment approaches typically used at these centers. The remaining 10 chapters are devoted to specific treatment approaches. I found this book to be well written, well organized, and easy to read. Current references, although somewhat limited, are provided along with an annotated bibliography An annotated bibliography is a bibliography that gives a summary of the research that has been done. It is still an alphabetical list of research sources. In addition to bibliographic data, an annotated bibliography provides a brief summary or annotation. . The book seems appropriate for clinicians who wish to treat patients of many different age groups. Its application to an elderly population, however, seems somewhat limited, partly because of the lack of sufficient empirical support available to date. Chapter 4, for example, highlights the lack of current empirical data concerning prevalence, presentation, and management of pain in an aging population. Still, other chapters do not always make extensive applications of pain management techniques to an older population. For instance, chapter 1 provides only a cursory review of the general age-related changes and their relevance to pain, and chapter 5 cites only two studies that use behavioral techniques behavioral technique Psychiatry Any coping strategy in which Pts are taught to monitor and evaluate their behavior and to modify their reactions to pain to manage pain in an older population. Likewise, chapters 6, 8, and 9 have only a few lines each referring to aging and pain. Despite these limitations in addressing an aging population, the book is still an excellent general resource for clinicians interested in pain management. Teresa M Hoeberlein, PT North Shore University Hospital Cornell Medical Center Manbasset, NY Bonica JJ. Malvern, PA 19355-9725, Lea & Febiger, 1990, hardback, 2,120 pp, illus, $250. |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion