If pain can be defined as a highly unpleasant, individualized experience of one of the body’s defense mechanisms indicating an injury or problem, pain management encompasses all interventions used to understand and ease pain, and, if possible, to alleviate the cause of the pain.

Effective pain recognition and management requires an ongoing commitment to patient comfort, to identifying barriers and addressing any misconceptions that residents, families, and staff may have about managing pain.

Non-pharmacologic interventions may help manage pain effectively when used either independently or in conjunction with medications.

Articles in the “annals of Long Term Care”, December 2013 states that”

• “The prevalence of chronic pain among geriatric nursing home residents is estimated to be between 45% and 80% with the majority of these elders experiencing pain on a daily basis.”

• ” . . . Research shows that 25% of individuals experiencing pain on a daily basis received neither analgesic medications nor nonpharmacologic treatments for their pain.”

• “Uncontrolled and poorly controlled pain can be quite costly.”