Beliefs and distress about orofacial pain: patient journey through a specialist pain consultation.

CONCLUSION: Patients' fears and beliefs about chronic orofacial pain are dominated by worrying and searching for meaning before consultation. Information about their chronic pain condition counters feelings of helplessness and supports sense-making around pain when explanations are clear, are delivered sensitively from a trusted source, and take into account the patient's existing health beliefs; this promotes self-management. These findings underline the important functions of specialist consultation in achieving a shared accurate understanding of pain and options for treatment. PMID: 25068216 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Source: Journal of Orofacial Pain - Category: ENT & OMF Tags: J Oral Facial Pain Headache Source Type: research