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Pain

What is Pain?

Pain is an uncomfortable feeling that tells you something may be wrong in your body. Pain is your body’s way of sending a warning to your brain. Your spinal cord and nerves provide the pathway for messages to travel to and from your brain and other parts of your body.

Within and beneath your skin are thousands of receptor nerve cells that sense heat, cold, touch, pressure and pain. When there is injury or illness, tiny cells send messages along nerves into your spinal cord and then up to your brain. Pain medicine blocks these messages or reduces their effect on your brain.

Your nurses and doctors will ask you about your pain because they want you to be comfortable, and because they want to know if something is wrong. Be sure to tell your doctor and nurses when you have pain so they can work with you to manage your pain, establish your pain management plan, and answer any questions or concerns you may have.
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Why Manage Pain?

To increase your comfort.
To help you heal faster.
To increase your physical activity and strength. To shorten your recovery time.

What are the Types of Pain?

Acute pain is caused by an illness or injury or an operation.
Chronic pain is pain that lasts at least 3 months.

How Can Pain Be Managed?

Medication: Pain medication may be given by a variety of methods. These include: by mouth (liquid or pills); by adhesive skin patches; by injection into arm or leg; or by injection into a vein. Pain medication may be given on a continuous, scheduled, or as-needed basis. You may discuss which method of medication administration would work best for you with your doctor(s) and nurses.

Other Pain Management Treatments: Several non-medication methods can also be effective in relieving pain either when used alone or with medicines. You may wish to learn more about:

Visualization helps take your mind off the pain: Close your eyes. Breathe deeply. Picture yourself in a quiet, peaceful place. Imagine how you feel in that place.
Relaxation helps relieve stress and pain: Close your eyes. Clench your foot muscles. Hold for a few seconds. Release. Repeat with the muscles in your calves. Work slowly up your body.
Deep breathing relaxes your whole body: Inhale slowly and deeply as you count to 5. Hold your breath for a couple for seconds. Exhale through your mouth as you count to 10.
Distractions that use your sense of hearing, seeing, touch and movement to focus attention on something other than pain. One effective distraction is music.
Massage to soothe your skin and relax tense muscles. Massage increases circulation and can help reduce stress and pain.
Cold or heat application to the skin. Cold may reduce muscle spasms, reduce inflammation or help stop the desire to scratch areas that itch. Heat may reduce soreness, decrease sensitivity to pain or relieve joint stiffness.
Meditation decreases stress by helping you focus on one word or object while you breathe slowly and deeply.

Managing Your Pain

Patients receiving pain care at this institution have the right to:

Describe his/her pain with the expectation that the description will be believed and respected as the best indicator of his/her pain.

Be apprised of all information and options in order to be an active participant in the development, implementation, evaluation, and revision of his/her pain care plan.
Receive pain care that is administered with respect and dignity by competent professionals who consider each patient to be an unique individual worthy of compassionate care.
Expect that all reasonable safety and security measures will be taken in the provision of pain care services.
Receive pain care that is monitored and evaluated on an ongoing basis to continually improve the quality of care delivered.
Request review of alternative pain care approaches and refuse or request revision of the current pain care plan without fear of reprisal.

What Can You Do to Manage Your Pain?

Ask your doctor or nurse what to expect from your illness, injury or surgery and what to expect from hospitalization.
Discuss your pain control plan with your doctors and nurses. Tell the doctor what medication has worked well, or not so well, in the past.
If your pain medication is ordered on an as needed basis, request it as soon as the pain starts. It is harder to ease pain once it has taken hold.
If your pain medication is not controlling your pain, tell your nurse or doctor.
Use distractions like watching TV, listening to music or listening to meditation tapes.
Ask your nurse or doctor if hot packs or cold packs would be helpful.
Use relaxation exercises like jaw relaxation or slow rhythmic breathing.
Prayer and meditation can be helpful for some people.
Pastoral care chaplains and social workers are available on request to listen to your feelings and concerns.
You may be asked to rate your pain on a scale of 0 to 10, or you may choose a word that best describes the pain.
You may also set a pain control goal (such as having no pain that’s worse than 3 on the scale).
Reporting your pain as a number helps the doctors and nurses know how well your treatment is working and whether to make any changes.