PAIN MANAGEMENT FEATURE therapist and pain specialist . I am part of a multi-professional team and my role involves conducting multi-dimensional occupationfocused assessments to establish the impact of persistent pain on all aspects of an individuals ’ life and their occupational role .
I facilitate individualised personal goal setting , choices and preferences , share knowledge and pain education advice , and support establishing daily routines , graded activity and signposting to services , when appropriate .
Many patients feel they have exhausted the treatments available to them , often presenting with low self-esteem , impacting their self-worth and independence . Unfortunately , modern science and research has not filtered down to either themselves or the healthcare professionals they may have come into contact with previously .
I feel my role offers some hope to begin to explore alternative ways for people to maximise occupational performance and learn to live better alongside pain , in order to engage in meaningful and fulfilling activities .
Interventions may include the use of metaphors , which are a powerful way to provide knowledge and educational material , assisting patients to start thinking differently about pain , and identify personal strengths or challenges towards ongoing selfmanagement ( Iwama , Thomson and Macdonald 2009 ).
The cycling was a personal experience of a metaphor that I feel can be related to people living with persistent pain . At times it was an uncomfortable experience , being both physically and emotionally challenging .
Day one was beautiful and full of sunshine , while the second day we had rain and cold winds that tested our resilience . However , I was reminded by a team-mate that you have to have the rain to see the rainbow , and that statement provided me some strength and courage to just be in the moment , value the opportunity , with the knowledge it will pass and all with be okay .
The terrain was up and down , with a mixture of flat lands in the south of the county to steep hills and fabulous scenery in the north .
Lagueux et al ( 2021 ) conducted a mixed-methods pilot study to explore the influence of a French- Canadian adaptation of Lifestyle Redesign ® for chronic pain management . Fifteen individuals with fibromyalgia participated in the 13-week intervention at occupational therapy settings in two pain management clinics . Quantitative data were collected pre- and post-intervention ( all participants completed questionnaires ), and qualitative data through phone interviews with six participants one to two weeks postintervention . Findings included improvements in life balance , engagement in meaningful activities , mental health-related quality of life , depressive symptoms , and pain self-efficacy . Two major themes emerged from the interviews : the occupational approach and development of a sense of belonging . The authors identify the potential feasibility and benefits of an occupation-based approach in chronic pain management .
Reference Lagueux É , Masse J , Levasseur M , Pagé R , Dépelteau A , Lévesque M-H … Pinard A-M ( 2021 ) Pilot study of French-Canadian Lifestyle Redesign ® for chronic pain management . OTJR : Occupation , Participation and Health , 41 ( 2 ), 80 – 89 .
EVIDENCE LINK
© rikkyal via Getty Images
OTnews November 2021 29