Pain and Complementary Therapies

Treatment of both acute and chronic pain typically involves a combination of pharmacologic and provider-based interventions, which is effective for some patients but not for others. Use of pain medications, especially repeated and frequent usage, involves the risk of adverse reactions, overuse, and dependency. Complementary and alternative therapies (CAT) offer an alternative or adjunctive method to decrease the pain experience and enhance function and quality of life. Various evidence-based CAT methods have been proved to be effective in the management of both acute and chronic pain. Nurses are well placed to implement various CAT modalities.
Source: Critical Care Nursing Clinics of North America - Category: Nursing Authors: Source Type: research