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Pain Management: How Social Workers Help

By Terry Altilio, MSW, ACSW

Everyone has pain at some time or another; in fact, it is essential to survival. Pain signals that the body is or has been injured and thereby warns us to take action. Most of the time pain dissipates as healing takes place and we continue on the path of our lives.

Pain experts believe that pain is not just physical but also involves variables such as our unique history, motivational factors and emotions. For example, pain that results from running a marathon is likely mitigated by feelings of accomplishment and pride. On the other hand, pain caused by migraine headaches can induce frustration and anger.

Acute versus Chronic Pain

The two kinds of pain that people experience are acute and chronic pain.

Acute pain is of recent onset and short duration and the response is often one of anxiety and an emergency fight or flight reaction.

Chronic pain is defined largely by time and outlasts the healing of an acute injury, recurs frequently over a period of months, or is associated with an injury that is not expected to heal. Chronic pain becomes like any other chronic illness and as opposed to acute pain, the focus often changes from searching for the cause and cure to managing the pain itself.

Over time, people may respond to chronic pain with depressive symptoms, including sleep and appetite disturbance, irritability, or loss of interest in activities and relationships.

How Social Workers Can Help

Social workers with a knowledge in management pain can assist you and your family members to:

  • Understand how your values, beliefs, hopes, emotions, and history impact pain
  • Explore ways to mediate the impact of pain in your life
  • Explore the relationship between biology, psychology, culture, spirituality, and family on your experience of living with pain so you can create the best quality of life
  • Work with you to identify your strengths, areas of competence and control
  • Teach skills and strategies to enhance your life such as relaxation, breathing exercise and goal setting
  • Assist you in problem solving and decision making as we know that considering options such as applying for disability or taking chronic medications have symbolic meaning and requires attention to the losses and adaptations that you and your family may make
  • Advocate and negotiate systems
  • Locate organizations that help with pain management.
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