Free Health Dissertations - Pain Management Through Creative Therapies Abstract: In This Essay We Would
Pain Management through Creative Therapies
Abstract:
In this essay we would discuss the physiology and mechanism of pain and highlight the differences of chronic and acute pain as well as the underlying neurological pathways responsible for producing a sensation of pain. In this context we differentiate Nociception or general physiological bodily pain and the wider definition of general pain that can involve emotional and psychological dimensions. From an analysis of pain, we move on to pain management and discuss in some detail the Chronic Pain Rehabilitation program identified by the NSF and Department of Health. Pain management techniques recommended by the Department of Health (DH) as well the services provided are discussed along with the emphasis shown on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and related techniques. We finally give research evidence to show the efficacy of various pain management techniques through art, cognitive behavioral and group therapeutic approaches highlighting the increased importance of creative therapies in mainstream pain management.
Introduction to Pain
Pain is usually considered as a subjective experience that can accompany nociception although pain can arise without a stimulus and may include an emotional reaction. Nociception is neurophysiologic term denoting activity in nerve pathways which transmit unpleasant signals and pain is usually associated with tissue damage and inflammation. Pain is an important aspect of the defense system of the body and pain signals instruct motor neurons of the central nervous system to minimize harm or injury to the body. Pain is explained by the gate control theory which concerns cognitive and emotional factors influencing painful sensations and is determined by different pain states at the brain rather than pain at a particular injured area of the body.
Nociception is the perception of physiological pain although the term pain itself is a broader term and involve psychological pain as well. When nociceptors are stimulated, signals are transmitted through sensory neurons in the spinal cord and are ultimately relayed to the thalamus in the brain and perception of pain takes place. As the brain is itself devoid of nociceptors it cannot experience pain by itself and pain is usually referred to as tissue damage by some harmful stimulus. Pain can thus be both physiologic and emotional or either one of them, nociception describes physiologic pain or pain related to physical injury to body tissues and pain picked up and transmitted as signals via receptors. Pain in general can however also be emotional or psychological and may be associated with neural factors not entirely known.
The main characteristic of pain is its unpleasantness and usually an organism uses all means to separate itself from any unpleasant stimuli that may be the cause of the pain.
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