Senior Care and Pain Management One of the fears of growing old is that chronic pain will be a part of everyday life. While many seniors do deal with pain as a complication of illness or injury, pain is not a normal part of aging and does not need to be so. There are two major categories of pain: acute pain and chronic pain. Acute pain is pronounced and has a short duration. This type of pain is the body 's way of telling you there is something wrong. Acute pain is a sign that you may need to seek medical treatment. Of course, this type of pain may also be the result of treatment. Acute pain is what you feel after a surgery, after visiting the dentist, and so forth. It is normally treated with a short-term regimen of medications. Chronic pain last three to six months or more. It is pain that does not go away and can affect your ability to function during the …show more content…
There are also things that can be done at home. A Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) unit uses electrical impulses to stimulate nerves in order to relieve pain. These devices often require somebody to properly position the pads. Proper nutrition can also help. Weight loss helps alleviate the pain of arthritis, can help fight depression, and is a part of most heart-health programs. There are also foods that have medicinal qualities and are helpful in pain management. The most common of these foods are those high in Omega 3 fatty acids. Sadly, many seniors either cannot or choose not to eat healthy food. Senior care personnel can assist with the planning, preparation, and cleanup of healthy meals. Exercising not only helps take or keep the weight off, but it is an effective way to increase your mental state. From simple walking to yoga, stretching, or pilates, seniors who engage in regular exercise can experience reductions in chronic pain. Senior services personnel can be there to encourage, support, and assist, or they can provide transportation to the gym, pool, or another
The treatments given are there to: control pain, improve joint function, maintain normal body weight and have a healthy life style. Treatments which may be recommended could be: o Physiotherapy o Joint replacement o Rest, ice, compression, elevate (RICE) o Pain relief o Splinting and casting Tendonitis Tendonitis is an injury which causes inflammation to the tendon.
In the article, “Sometimes Pain Is a Puzzle That Can’t Be Solved”, Abigail Zuger, the author, describes her own experiences with pain along with some examples and generalizations about the feeling. She claims that she is “ruled by (her) elbow” and “it is (her) constant companion, whimpering, and tugging at (her) sleeve.” She goes on to say that many people have the same problems, especially when drugs, “like naproxen and ibuprofen” are unhelpful and “might as well be cornflakes.” Finally, she explains how far we have advanced in the medical field, but “ none of (the) knowledge has translated into new treatments,” to help people such as herself.
After a long day, a massage can help you relax and unwind. Your body will appreciate this effective form of stress management. Learn about the physical benefits of this alternative therapy. Muscle Pain Reduction Muscle pain can be debilitating for many people.
Key Facts About Foot Arch Pain Did you know that an average adult takes 4,000 to 6,000 steps a day? It is no wonder that a person experiences different foot-related ailments such as an aching pain in the ball of foot and foot arch. Women who wear high heels can develop a weakened foot arch, making them prone to plantar fasciitis. When your foot arch is riddled with stress, its plantar fascia will get inflamed and lead to a condition called plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia is a ligament in your foot that connects your heel bone to your toes.
Frail seniors are at an increased risk for negative health outcomes and death. They require more hospital services, community resources and are likely to have extended stays in long-term care. For these reasons, it is important that healthcare providers have an awareness and receive proper training about frailty issues so that preventative actions can be implemented at earliest opportunity. Due to an increasingly aging population, there is a need for studies to investigate treatment options for these geriatric conditions and diseases. Thus, to develop an effective geriatric intervention, it is essential to consider the disease model and target population.
Problems, causes & solutions. With physical ageing individuals are prone to disease and tend to lose mobility due to which they need constant assistance for the conduct of their daily chores. This is troublesome and stressful for the loved ones of the individuals who are unable to unable to sacrifice their source of income, careers and busy schedules to continuously tend to them and in instances also lack in knowledge and ability to help them. Caring Hands Residential Living offers a solution and for the resolution of the special needs of the seniors to the next of kin of such individuals. Caring Hands assumes the responsibility of tending to the elderly and enabling the transition to their late life happy, comfortable and easy.
Since most primary care providers lack the proper education to help their patients, the patient usually is misinformed and misdiagnosed about their problem. Also since they lack the needed knowledge of chronic pain, they cannot discuss modalities with the patients and assure patients that their pain can be managed. In addition to having the education, providers must also have the patience to treat the patient, because chronic pain is as serious as any other major disease or condition that takes time to assess and
In such cases, seniors can benefit from occupational therapy,
Pain usually resolves during the appropriate healing period. However, untreated pain leads to serious consequences. There are many factors that prevent nurses from adhering to guidelines of proper pain management. Eventually, the ultimate outcome will have severe consequences on patients’ health. For instance, improper communication, Dilhe et al., 2006) lack of availability of protocol.
Although there are many positive developments that are occurring, there are additional challenges that the elderly face e.g. economic challenges, health issues, and emotional issues. Successful Aging is a notion that certain variables differentiate between aging well or experiencing difficulty (Martin, 2012). Individuals who are moderately, physically active, have a greater level of social interaction, this includes additional activities/hobbies and exercise regularly appears to have a greater
I know that elder people muscles do not work as well than a younger person and that they deserve to have that feeling of being able to move all of their weaker muscles and bones
You might hear them complaining backaches on joint pains every now and then. If they do not have crucial problems on their health, you can give them a massage too. 5.) Hobbies Despite their age, seniors will always find a way to do their hobbies.
Secondly, it is important to eat well. Keeping a nutritious diet is important to helping the body especially when one’s appetite usually diminishes with age. Finally, being social is very important to aging well. I personally believe from seeing my grandma move into a senior living center she has thrived more since she has been able to be more
Elderly services focus on the promotion of the well-being of elders in all aspects of their life through the provision of a wide spectrum of services to allow them to remain living in the community for as long as possible. To provide residential care that suits the different needs of elders whenever required, Community care and support services assist our elders to remain living in the community for as long as possible and gives support to their care givers. With increasing diversity of community care and support services, a more integrated approach is adopted to facilitate access to services. In brief, there are three types of community care and support services, namely, elderly centre services, community care services and other community support services (SWD,