G'day Jean, Firstly, there are a couple of brilliant texts that may be of interest to you. One is written by, and one is edited by, Jenny Strong, Professor of OT at Univ of Queensland (I believe the author is a member of the International Association for the Study of Pain). Both texts have a really OT focus.
The first one is: Strong, J. (1996). Chronic Pain: The Occupational Therapy Perspective. Churchill Livingstone. The second reference is: Strong, J., Unruh, A., Wright, A., & Baxter, G. (2002) Pain: A textbook for therapists. Churchill Livingstone. This author is also widely published in OT and pain journals. Another OT Maria Mullersdorf is widely published in the area of arthritis and pain. Might be worth checking out. There is also a website that may be of interest to you. It is the National Occupational Therapy Pain Association (British) website (http://jimmy.qmuc.ac.uk/usr/notpa/Default.shtml) I have cut and pasted part of their website for your interest: "Occupational Therapists educate, facilitate and collaborate with chronic pain patients on the following topics: - Monitoring activity levels - Goal setting - Activity pacing and planning - Baseline setting and increasing tolerances - Reducing reliance on equipment and adaptations - Posture/Body Mechanics/Ergonomics - Effective communication skills - Maintenance of pain management skills - Work and leisure Occupational Therapists use a goal-focused graded approach. Our methods include: Problem solving; challenging activity avoidance; breaking over-under activity cycles; analysing; planning and prioritising activities; balancing activity schedules; encouraging time as a guide instead of pain to increase activity levels in a graded, systematic way; recording achievements (for example, a diary); applying reinforcement techniques; and practising activities. " It might also be a good idea to idea to look at some psychosocial factors that may be impacting on her quality of life (eg fear of movement/reinjury/pain, self-efficacy, perceived functional capacities - pain is more than just a physical phenomon). (Not sure how funding limitations would impact on this??) Have you been able to investigate her participation in occupation. Engaging in purposeful, meaningful activity can have the effect of distracting her from the pain which may act to break the chronic pain cycle. Just a thought. Regarding actual hands-on treatment, have you consulted with a PT about this. They tend to have alot of know how and know why in this area. Hope this has helped. Cheers Michael ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Friday, January 17, 2003 12:15 pm Subject: OT Pain Management > Hi: > > Does anyone have techniques for pain management? I have a woman > with severe > arthritic pain in R shoulder. The doctors say it is the worst > arthritis they > have ever seen. > > I give her massage (though I don't think massage is a reimbursable > intervention, but it temporarily lessens the pain). I also am > working on > increasing her trunk muscles for better postural control to help > take > pressure off of overworked extensor muscles in the back. She > limits her > activity level since movement exacerbates the pain (10/10), so she > is getting > weaker and her quality of life is very poor. > > Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated! Oh, by the way, I > work in home > health. Also, does anyone use trigger point therapy? > > Jean > *********��*********** Unsubscribe? Send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message's *body*, put the following text: unsubscribe OTlist ** List messages are archived at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] *********��***********
