Just about everyone feels pain from time to time, but managing chronic pain in residents is a critical challenge. When you cut your finger or pull a muscle, pain is your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. Once the injury heals, you stop hurting—hooray! But what about chronic pain? I’m talking about pain that keeps hurting for weeks, months, or even years after an injury. Doctors define chronic pain as pain that lasts for 3-6 months or more.

Sometimes chronic pain can begin without any obvious cause. But for many people, it starts after an injury or because of a health condition. It can range from mild to severe and continue day after day or come and go. Chronic pain interferes with daily life, it may keep you from doing things you want and need to do, and it can take a toll on your self-esteem. More concerning, chronic pain can make you feel depressed, which can make your pain worse. Many physicians will order antidepressant medications to treat chronic pain as it helps with both the pain and the emotional strain it causes.

Think about the causes of chronic pain. Past injuries or surgeries, back problems, arthritis, nerve damage (neuropathy), infections, etc., are all conditions common in seniors. Now think about your residents. Are we doing everything we can for someone suffering with chronic pain? Remember, managing chronic pain in residents requires us to be aware of the non-verbal signs of pain: grimacing when moved, weakness leading to immobility, depression, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, mood changes, etc. We need to be assessing our residents for pain on a scheduled basis and as needed. Talk to your residents, listen to them; they may not use the word “pain” but rather will say “I’m just not hungry” or “I’m not interested in going to activities.” Let’s do the right thing—no one should live with untreated, chronic pain! Stay well and stay informed!

For more information:

What Olympians Can Teach the Rest of Us About Pain (medscape.com)

Athletes and Experimental Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis – PubMed (nih.gov)

Longitudinal relationships between habitual physical activity and pain tolerance in the general population – PubMed (nih.gov)