Psychological Aspects Of Pain And Its Management Flashcards
Why is pain good
Protects from harm
Serves as an alarm system
What is the pathway for pain transmission
Pain is detected by nociceptors
Goes up dorsolateral spinothalamic tract
Relays to thalamus
Projects to somatosensory cortex
= PAIN
What is the role of the insula
Responsible for the emotional association of pain
Role of the anterior cingulate cortex
Deals with emotion formation and processing, learning and memory
Linking reward and punishment information
What kind of factors trigger the alarm associated with pain
For example a memory in which you last experienced something painful
Place
Event
Acute pain is associated with damage to what
Damage to tissues
What occurs in chronic pain
Tissue damage has usually healed but feeling of pain remains
Maybe due to conditioning
For example resting when in pain but then brain conditioned to think movement will result in pain
What things are not so helpful for dealing with pain
MRIs
Surgeries
What are the NICE guidelines for managing chronic pain
No analgesia
Exercise groups
Pain management such as using psychological interventions, acupuncture and antidepressants
What happens to the probability of returning to work as time goes on
As the time off work increases the likelihood of returning to work decreases significantly
Those with chronic pain are more likely to have which psychological co-morbidities
Depression and anxiety
Check for drug and alcohol dependence
Check for suicidal thoughts
what kind of drugs can be used to treat depression
Duloxetine
Venlafaxine
Amitryptiline
What can you direct patients to in terms of managing pain
Pain and self care toolkit
What is the focus of cognitive behavioural therapy
Cognitive restructuring to challenge negative thoughts and establishing coping mechanisms
What does mindfulness focus on
Meditation technique aimed at focusing the mind on the present moment
Relaxed and non judgemental awareness of thoughts, feelings and Sensations
Mindfulness based stress reduction
