Better Ways to Assess (and Treat) Pain

Pain can have a massive negative influence over the quality of life that people lead. Managing pain is one of the hardest parts of senior care, often because there’s no safe way to do so. Even when pain can be treated, the source of the pain and the intensity of it can be difficult to communicate. When it comes to people with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, these problems become even more severe.

 

That’s why it is very good news that a team of researchers based out of the University of Pittsburgh have made some big strides when it comes to helping patients communicate their pain better. The technique involves using electronic tools to help patients explain the type of pain that they are feeling, where it’s located, and the intensity of it. The animation is available on a mobile app, and helps patients to customize how they describe their pain in order to help doctors understand it more thoroughly than previous pain assessment measures allowed.

 

Researchers are referring to this app as “painimation” since it allows patients to animate their pain in a more complete manner. Dr. Charles Jonassaint commented that doctors now “have the potential to more quickly and accurately understand a person’s pain experience, and, more importantly, provide treatments that work and stop those that don’t.” In other words, this leap forward can help improve lives by helping individuals dealing with chronic pain have a better chance of relieving their symptoms.

 

Pain management is one of the toughest parts of senior care.

 

In the past, a scale of 1-10 has been used to try and assess pain in a medical setting. This is the most widely used pain assessment measure, and it is very inaccurate. While it can give doctors some clues about what’s being faced and the care that is needed, it is almost always incomplete information. These painimations are an attempt to help alleviate this issue.

 

Technology has done amazing things when it comes to healthcare over the last several years. This is another instance where improvements in technology are working to help improve the quality of life in those people who are suffering. Being able to track and treat pain more effectively can rid people of dependence on medication and painkillers, help people reduce the amount of assistance that they need from others to get through each day, and help people to be happier and healthier. This is what we all want for our loved ones when we start looking for senior care for them, and this better pain management is just another way that we can help them to achieve this.

 

Dealing with chronic pain is difficult. If you have a loved one that is going through this, or you are going through it yourself, then you know just how tough it is to lead a happy and productive life. A lot of individuals dealing with pain need a caregiver or are placed in a nursing home. Alleviating that pain effectively could potentially help these people to live happier and much more independent lives. Helping your loved ones do this is our goal.

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