Complementary and Integrative Therapies to Relieve Chronic Pain in the Elderly Population
Numerous elderly want to maintain a healthy life and this is not quite possible when they have persistent pain. Complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) is an alternative to manage pain. There are countless different alternative therapies for different types of pain. There are mind-body practices as well as natural products and supplements available for elderly who are looking for other options. Elderly clients are introduced to options by health care professionals that are suitable for them, depending on their interests and the type of pain. Not only this, but along with managing pain with alternative therapies, it is important to focus on communication and a helping and trusting relationship to speak with the client and address their needs.
Key Points
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Managing pain in older adults is difficult; eating an enormous amount of pills is usually not adequate in managing pain, keeping it controlled and may cause addiction. Some elderly find it difficult to make changes in their life for CIM and some therapies require lifestyle changes, but they do not want to eat pills either. An elderly women who’s a family friend was suffering from a lot of pain, she was not eating her pills because of the side affects and as it mentions in the textbook, a barrier to effective pain management are the side effects of medication, which can be difficult to manage and treat (Hirst, Lane, & Millers, 2015). Not only that, but she was not ready to make lifestyle changes to exercise more often to reduce the pain. Many elderly in these situations start to live with the pain, not knowing that those behavioural and lifestyle changes associated with CIM along with learning about CIM, could bring a lot of improvement in their