Pain management in nursing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Pain management in nursing - Research Paper Example Luckily, quite a lot of studies and print and electronic literatures cover the subject of pain management. In many occasions, literatures define pain management as composed of medical practitioners, occupational therapists, clinical nurse specialists, clinical psychologists, physiotherapists, and nurse practitioners (Gordon et al., 2005). When need arises, other practitioners such as massage specialists and psychiatrists may be incorporated in pain management practices, especially in cases of non-physical pain. Pain healing process is sometimes rather quick, once the underlying disease or trauma has been healed. This kind of pain management requires mostly one physician to deal with completely, using drugs such as analgesics (Gordon et al., 2005). On the other hand, proper management of long-term pain will require a dedicated team of physicians from a wide range of specializations to manage effectively. Medicine is concerned with the treatment of sickness and injury to enhance speedy heeling, and also treats upsetting symptoms like pain to alleviate suffering during the recovery process. In cases where a painful injury fails to heal quickly, or when the pain persists even after the injury or sickness has healed, or when the cause of the pain cannot be ascertained, the task of medicine is to relieve the pain (Gordon et al., 2005). Clinical Trials of Pain Management and Studies of Pain Mechanisms are some of the avenues by which pain management has achieved considerable growth and development in recent times. For instance clinical trials by the World Health Organization (WHO), institutions such as the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and pharmaceuticals such as GSK Pharmaceutical. For example, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke did a pilot trial of intravenous pamidronate for chronic low back pain while a GSK Pharmaceutical sponsored a randomized randomized, double-blind, placebo-contr olled, crossover pilot trial of lamotrigine for central pain due to multiple sclerosis: a model for the role of lamotrigine in the treatment of central pain. Investigator initiated grant. This paper investigates the available and accessible studies and print and electronic literatures on pain management in nursing with a view to finding the current pain management methods in use, their effectiveness, and chance for improvement if any. Further, the relevance of these literatures and any gaps and other weaknesses will be explored. Literature Review on Approaches to Pain Management in Nursing The reviewed literatures revealed that quite a number of approaches to pain management in nursing have been in use for a very log time. These techniques include; the use of physical therapy, antidepressants, analgesics, anticonvulsants, physical exercise, psychological measures like biofeedback, application of heat or ice, and in some cases, cognitive behavioral therapy (World Health Organization, 2013). Pain management in nursing can also be attained by the use of drugs or through interventional means. The interventional methods available are commonly used to cure chronic back pain. Examples of these intervention procedures are injection of facet joints, the use of spinal cord stimulators, and use of epidural steroid injections. As stated earlier, pain management may sometimes involve physicians from