Alternative Pain Management

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the types of pain that include chronic pain, acute pain and breakthrough pain. The paper looks at the methods to make an effective diagnosis of pain and provides an understanding of how pain occurs. The paper then explores alternative therapies for pain and focuses on massage therapy and deep breathing. The paper concludes that there is enough evidence that unconventional and alternative strategies for treatment can have beneficial effects.

Outline:
Introduction
Mechanism of Pain
Kinds of Pain
Alternative Therapies for Pain Management
Massage Therapy
Use of Massage Therapy
Deep Breathing
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"There is a journal that is dedicated to the subject of pain--Pain. Pain is an important aspect of life because it is the mechanism by which the body protects itself. The capacity to monitor the integrity of our bodies and to be made immediately aware of injury through the experience of pain is critical for our survival. Individuals who are born without this capacity frequently die at relatively young ages from injuries or illnesses that they never realized they had. There are different therapeutic modalities to treat pain. Of these, massage therapy or deep breathing are two. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "... an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage."(Merskey, 1979) Margaret McCaffrey, a social scientist and registered nurse was quoted in cancer-pain.org as saying: "Pain is whatever the experiencing person says it is, and exists whenever he says it does." (McCaffrey, 1972)"

Sample of Sources Used:

• Amfoundation. (2008). PAIN MANAGEMENT: An Alternative and Complementary Medicine Resource Guide. Retrieved May 14, 2008, from http://www.amfoundation.org/pain.htm#JOURNALS
• Baldry, P. (1993). Complementary medicine. The practice of acupuncture needs tighter safeguards. Bmj, 307(6899), 326.
• Barrow, K. (2005). Take a Deep Breath: Supplemental Oxygen Therapy for COPD. Retrieved May 14, 2008, from http://nydailynews.healthology.com/lung-disease/article331.htm?pg=2
• Burch, B. (2008). Different kinds of pain. Retrieved May 14, 2008 from http://www.wheelchair-user.info/pain.html
• Davis, D. (2008). Massage Therapy. Retrieved May 13, 2008, from http://www.spineuniverse.com/displayarticle.php/article1691.html

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