Transcript Document

Returning to Function Part Two
Box Breathing
Setting Functional Goals
Review
 The purpose of pain is not to accurately tell us:
› where the problem is
› what the problem is
› how bad the problem is
 Pain’s job is to make us stop!
 Our patient’s need treatment and guidance to make these protective
responses less sensitive.
 Wind down the nervous system
4
Case Study 1
 38 year old woman
 Neck pain and headaches and unable
to work
 Not improving 5 weeks after whiplash injury
 Xrays show degenerative changes throughout
lower cervical spine, with C4-5 reported as
having more arthritic changes.
5
Scripts 1
There is hope, and, finding ease of movement is the first step.
 This type of pain you are experiencing is chronic pain ... but that
doesn’t mean it will always be like this, or that it will continue to
worsen.
 Pain can be changed, and my job is to help you with that.
 This medication I am giving you should make you feel that the pain is in
control, and it should help you move better. I want to see you back
here next week to make certain it is working for both things.
 You showed me how much you can move your neck and arms today
and we will recheck that next week.
6
Script 2 - same patient one week later
Calm breathing decreases pain and helps move with more ease.
 The medication helps to decrease pain temporarily, but her movement
is no better.
 When you ask her to move, she holds her breath, and tenses her neck,
shoulder and face muscles.
 “Close your eyes and breathe as calmly as you can for the next minute.”
After a minute passes, “now try those movements again.
 “remember that your protective systems are on high alert. It will be
difficult to calm them down if you hold your breath and tense up so
much every time you move.”
 “It’s important to stop sending the message that movement is really
dangerous.”
7
Case Study 2
 48 year old construction worker
 Slow to resolve low back pain and right leg
nerve root irritation pain (seems L5
distribution but no conduction deficits)
 MRI 8 weeks after a lifting injury shows L45 lateral disc bulge, central stenosis and
osteoarthritic changes
8
Scripts 3
Brief description of chronic pain, and the roles of relaxation and
medication.
 Patient asks - “What can you do to fix this?”
 “You have a problem in your back, and irritated nerves. The best
treatment we can do is to work on calming down the irritation.
 Your job in this plan is to spend time every day relaxing and getting
your body and breathing to feel as calm as possible.”
– (we do not know the best dose of this, so fit it into the patient’s day)
 “The job of this medication is to let you move more easily. If it is not
doing that, we need to try something else.”
9
Case Study 3
 43 year old woman with fibromyalgia
 Previously high-level, high-paid executive
position
 Unwilling to try medications until now
 Exercise has made her worse
 Meditation and sitting still make her
more anxious
10
Scripts 4






11
Brief explanation of fibromyalgia pain, and why initial attempts at
what should help are sometimes unsuccessful.
I am pleased you are ready to try some things other than just being
tough and trying to win a battle with this pain.
We know that in fibromyalgia many aspects of the nervous systems are
cranky and over-sensitive.
Our job, together, is to find ways to calm them down again. It’s not
easy, but it’s possible.
The medication we are trying should let you move with less pain. The
yoga you are doing should also help with that.
Remember that the strength you have to be tough and carry on in the
face of this pain is not helping you get better. Somehow you need to
stay tough, but don’t push so hard.
You need to pay more attention to your body and pain, not less.
Case Study 4
 64 year old active employed male
 10 weeks post TKA, and his pain
and function are worsening
 He is angry, believing that the pain
must be from faulty surgical technique
and that the surgeon is
saying he is making this pain up
 Orthopaedic surgeon has investigated and the prosthesis is not the
problem
12
Scripts 5
Post-surgical pain can be related to sensitization and wind-up. Pain
education is often the first step needed in such cases.
 “When pain persists like this and we cannot find the reason for it from the tissue
or the surgery, we know that the problem includes unexpected responses from the
pain system.
 This is something you need to learn much more about so we can work together to
help you out. Here is a link to the Pain BC webinars where they talk about this in
much more detail, and it would help to read this book ... you can get it from the
library. We will need to talk some more about this, because it will sound different
from what we have discussed before.”
13
Scripts 6
Reassuring the person in pain that we know what to do, and,
providing the understanding that a team approach is needed.
 “Your pain is real. It may not be easy to change it, but we can.
 This medication is to help you move better, and not pay for it so much.
 Your nervous systems have become far too agitated - by the pain before the
surgery, and all the stress after it. I want you to see this counsellor to learn
breathing and relaxation techniques. And I will contact your physiotherapist to
make certain she is getting you to do as much work on calming down the nerves in
your knee as working on getting you stronger.
 If we all work together we can help you best with this.”
14
Resources
 www.painbc.ca
› Empowering Self Management of Pain series
› The Pain Toolkit
› Yoga for People in Pain series
 Chronic Pain Self-Management Program (University of Victoria)
 Understand Pain, Live Well Again
Pearson, N. Patient education book available in all BC public libraries
 Explain Pain
Butler D, Moseley L. www.noigroup.com

15
http://www.physicalactivityline.com/
Practice Support Program Tools
 MH algorithm (http://www.gpscbc.ca/psp-learning/mentalhealth/tools-resources)
 CBIS from PSP’s adult mental health module
 Problem list
 Resource list
 Brief Action Planning
 Bounce back DVD
 Anti-depressant skills workbook
16