Chronic Pain Through the Occupational Therapy Lens

Abstract

We as occupational therapy students at the University of Southern Maine partnered with The Cedars which is a skilled nursing facility in Portland, Maine. Their partnership guided our project with searching for evidence on the role of occupational therapy within the geriatric population who experience chronic pain. Chronic pain can be hard to manage and has the possibility of inhibiting one’s quality of life. Evidence shows how occupational therapists have an important role in working with patients who have chronic pain. Quality evidence has supported an array of interventions within the scope of occupational therapy to help improve one’s quality of life. Our findings conclude the current occupational therapy interventions for chronic pain patients are adaptive equipment, lifestyle redesign, cognitive behavioral therapy, pain self-management, mindfulness, and online mind-body programs. Within these interventions positive outcome measurements for the patients entailed improvements with occupational performance, pain management, physical functioning, and psychosocial well-being

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