In 2015 acupuncture was introduced as an alternative intervention in the management of chronic pain, at the Chronic Pain Management Clinic of Groote Schuur Hospital, a tertiary academic hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. This study is a retrospective, cross-sectional analysis that aimed to investigate several aspects of the acupuncture intervention over a 12 month period. The main outcome measure, the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), is a widely used, internationally validated questionnaire, containing pain intensity, pain interference, and total score. The main objective of this study was to determine if the acupuncture treatment lowered BPI scores after 6 to 9 intervention sessions. Additional objectives were to determine if there are any correlations between demographic and clinical factors and changes in BPI scores, and to describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of the study population. The data was obtained by folder reviews of 66 patients with chronic pain who were referred for acupuncture treatment between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2015, and attended at least one treatment session. The full treatment course (6-9 sessions) was completed by 24 patients (36,3%), with an average post treatment decrease in BPI of 3,7 points. Responders (patients who obtained 2 and more point BPI decrease) comprised 70,6% of the patients who completed treatment. Decrease in BPI scores after completion of full acupuncture treatment proved to be statistically significant (p=0.002). Factors showing strongest correlation with BPI decrease were female gender and absence of medical and psychiatric co-morbidities.

No description available.

The purpose of this thesis is to provide a critical analysis of research findings about hydrotherapy as a means of reducing chronic pain used independently of opioids. Chronic pain is often treated with analgesics of varying potency, some with serious adverse side effects if used over a long period of time. Exploring the effectiveness of therapies other than medication to treat chronic pain is important to decrease or eliminate the amount to pain medication taken for chronic pain. Hydrotherapy is one therapy that may improve the pain experience for those with chronic pain. A literature search was conducted using the key terms chronic pain and hydrotherapy with the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature database. This search yielded 5 studies that met the inclusion criteria, which were: research from 2015 or newer, studied adults over the age of 18, used hydrotherapy to reduce chronic pain who were not also using opioids, peer-reviewed, and written in the English language. The 5 studies found specifically addressed the conditions of osteoarthritis of the knee, fibromyalgia, and chronic low-back pain. All studies indicated hydrotherapy reduced chronic pain in adults. Findings of this analysis of the literature supports the recommendation to use hydrotherapy to improve chronic pain. Further research in other conditions known to cause chronic pain is needed.

No description available.

Background. Understanding how people adjust to living with chronic pain is paramount because of the negative impact of chronic pain on quality of life. Chronic pain integration has been proposed as a new construct that may enhance understanding of chronic pain adjustment. Integration, as defined by people living with chronic pain, is an ongoing process in which the person with chronic pain evolves becoming a mentally and physically stronger individual; creating a sense of harmony and control in one’s life. These positive outcomes of integration necessitate its continued investigation in chronic pain, especially if it may positively affect life quality. Objective. There were two overarching purposes of this study: (a) to further refine and test the psychometric properties of the Chronic Pain Integration Questionnaire (CPIQ); and (b) to examine four research hypotheses based on the proposed relationships between several constructs. Method and Results. Utilizing a quantitative, non-experimental design, the CPIQ demonstrated internal consistency reliability, test-retest reliability, and evidence of validity when tested in a sample of 201 adults living with chronic non-cancer pain. All four of the research hypotheses were confirmed and three domains of the CPIQ were identified through exploratory factor analysis: self-management, self-awareness, and intrinsic adjustment. The favourable psychometric results of the CPIQ provide support for its continued use to understand adjustment in chronic pain. Ultimately, the goal of future research with the CPIQ is to identify effective interventions that promote chronic pain integration; leading to improved life quality for the person with chronic pain. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / A questionnaire titled the Chronic Pain Integration Questionnaire (CPIQ) was developed and then given to 201 adults living with chronic pain in order to gain a better understanding of how these adults have adjusted to living with chronic pain. The responses that these adults gave on the CPIQ were then compared to responses they gave on additional questionnaires related to their physical and mental health, acceptance, and social support. These comparisons allowed for the detailed examination of people’s adjustment to living with chronic pain. It is hoped that the CPIQ, which has now been developed and tested, will continue to allow health care professionals to gather more information about the life of someone living with chronic pain. It is also hoped that the CPIQ could be used in future research to identify effective strategies that improve the overall quality of life of the person suffering with chronic pain.

The thirteen essays in this collection center on the narrator's shifting relationship to opioid painkillers and other drugs. The narrator and protagonist, Amy, begins using opioids recreationally with her boyfriend Ryan, an opiate addict who initiates Amy's drug use. Years after the couple breaks up, Amy's childhood headaches return as migraines and transform into chronic daily headaches, which she relieves with oxycodone (and sometimes other drugs). The narrative chronicles Amy's relationship with Ryan and her iatrogenic dependence on narcotic painkillers, detoxification, return to opioids following a year spent "clean," and the ways in which her headache treatment regimen shapes her relationship to her family, friends, various medical personnel, and her own embodied subjectivity. / MFA

Thesis (M.A.)--The Master's College, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 161-165).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of a multidisciplinary pain management program on five measures of subjective psychosocial factors. Ninety-five participants in the comprehensive multidisciplinary treatment group and the standard medical intervention control group were surveyed about various psychosocial factors using Axis II of the West Haven - Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory (MPI), pre- to post-treatment. It was hypothesized that post-treatment levels would be significantly lower than pre-treatment levels for all five psychosocial variables. Additionally, gender and ethnicity variables were examined. Based on preliminary analyses indicating pre-treatment differences between the experimental and control group, five 2 x 2 x 3 analyses of covariances (ANCOVAs) were used to examine the above hypotheses. Results indicated significant differences between the treatment conditions on measures of control, with the comprehensive group feeling more in control than the standard group at post-treatment. No other significant main effects for treatment condition were found on the measures of pain severity, interference with daily activities, negative mood, or social support. However, a significant gender main effect was found for social support at post-treatment, with females reporting more social support than males. A significant gender x ethnicity interaction was also found for post-treatment control, with African-American females exhibiting higher levels of control than the other groups. Finally, a significant gender x treatment condition was found for negative mood, with males in the comprehensive group reporting more affective distress than those in the standard group. In this study, control appeared to be an integral factor in the chronic pain sample and greatly improved with comprehensive multidisciplinary treatment; while other areas of relative efficacy were not confirmed in this population.

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is one of the most prevalent and disabling health conditions in the US and worldwide. Biomedical explanations of acute injury fail to account for why some individuals experience remission of pain and restoration of physical function while others do not. Pain-related fear, accompanied by elevated appraisals of physical exertion and avoidance of physical activity, has emerged as a central psychosocial risk factor for transition from acute injury to chronic pain and disability. Research has indicated that these pain-related factors may be maintained through observational learning mechanisms. To date, no studies have experimentally examined the role of observational learning and pain-related fear in the context of actual musculoskeletal injury. Accordingly, the present study examined the impact of observational learning and pain-related fear on activity appraisals and exertion following experimentally- induced acute low back injury. Healthy participants' appraisal of standardized movement tasks along with measures of physical exertion were collected prior to and following a procedure designed to induce delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) to the lower back. Following induction of DOMS, participants observed a video prime depicting CLBP patients exhibiting either high or low pain behavior during similar standardized movements. In line with hypothesized effects, participants assigned to the high pain behavior prime demonstrated greater elevation in pain and harm appraisals as well as greater decrement in physical exertion. Further in line with hypotheses, significant changes in appraisal and physical performance following the high pain behavior prime were only observed among participants endorsing high pain-related fear during baseline assessment. Discussion of findings addresses potential mechanisms of action as well as study limitations and direction for future research.