Pain management
The process of providing medical care that alleviates or reduces pain. Mild to moderate pain can usually be treated with analgesic medications, such as aspirin. For chronic or severe pain, opiates and other narcotics may be used, sometimes in concert with analgesics; with steroids or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs when the pain is related to inflammation; or with antidepressants, which can potentiate some pain medications without raising the actual dose of the drug and which affect the brain’s perception of pain. Narcotics carry with them the potential for side effects and addiction. However, the risk of addiction is not normally a concern in the care of terminal patients. For hospitalized patients with severe pain, devices for self-administration of narcotics are frequently used. Other procedures can also be useful in pain management programs. For bedridden patients, simply changing position regularly or using pillows to support a more comfortable posture can be effective. Massage, acupuncture, acupressure, and biofeedback have also shown some validity for increased pain control in some patients.
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- Pain, abdominal
Pain in the belly. Abdominal pain can be acute or chronic. It may reflect a major problem with one of the organs in the abdomen, such as appendicitis or a perforated intestine, or it may result from a fairly minor problem, such as excess buildup of intestinal gas.
- Pain, back
Pain in any part of the back. Pain in the back can relate to the bony spine, discs between the vertebrae, ligaments around the spine and discs, spinal cord and nerves, muscles of the back, internal organs, or skin covering the back. Causes of back pain can include injury, overstress, or disease.
- Pain, breast
Pain in the breast or mammary gland, known medically as mastalgia. From the Greek masto-, breast + algos, pain.
- Pain, chest
Pain in the chest that can be a result of many things, including angina, heart attack (coronary occlusion), and other important diseases. Chest pain is a warning to seek medical attention, so one should try not to ignore chest pain and ‘work through it.’
- Pain, elbow
Elbow pain is most often the result of tendinitis, which can affect the inner or outer elbow. Treatment includes ice, rest, and medication for inflammation. Elbow pain has many other causes including arthritis and bursitis. Funny bone sensation is irritation of a nerve at the elbow that causes numbness and tingling of the inner elbow, […]