MSWA Bulletin Magazine Winter 2017

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY
IN PERSISTENT PAIN CARE
IAN CHEOK, MSWA OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
If you suffer from persistent pain, you are enduring more
than your fair share of obstacles. In addition to continual
discomfort, you may also experience a lot of frustration.
Persistent pain takes a major toll on your ability to do the
things that are important to you daily, such as cooking a
meal, having a shower, looking after your family, going to
work and going out with your friends. Left unaddressed, it
can cause you to lose your independence, leaving you little or
no alternative but to rely on others to do the things you used
to be able to do on your own.
Medical researchers now understand that various elements
are simultaneously at play in someone with persistent pain.
These elements can be physical (e.g. your body, issues in
your tissues, infection, inflammation), mental (e.g. beliefs,
fears, worries, anxieties) and environmental (e.g. heat/cold,
pressure, chemical exposure, pathogens). Researchers have
even discovered that our social and cultural environment can
affect how we experience and cope with pain. Pain is complex,
and to manage it successfully, we will have to understand its
many elements.
Occupational therapy is the use of purposeful activities
to help people improve their function and independence.
Occupational Therapists (OTs) are qualified health professionals
who help people achieve good health and wellbeing using
specific activities. OTs have a detailed understanding of the
interrelationship between the complex systems of the human
body and the external environment. This is helpful when
dealing with persistent pain.
OTs can help people cope with and manage their pain, so
they can continue to carry out the activities most important
to them. For instance, some activities can stimulate pain,
especially if they require more effort or range of motion than
you have available. OTs can help to find strategies to make the
activity less taxing, or find ways to modify the environment
to make the activity more doable. As OTs are very familiar
with all kinds of adaptive devices, they may suggest a device
that will make the activity easier. Sometimes it’s also a
question of breaking down the activity into manageable bits,
with rest breaks in between, that will allow the activity to be
accomplished without triggering pain.
When you have persistent pain, you often experience a great
deal of fatigue because of constantly tolerating the pain,
difficulty sleeping, or being less active. OTs can suggest ways
of structuring your day to manage fatigue. Alternatively, they
may be able to suggest sleeping positions that will allow you
to get a better night’s rest. In addition, an OT may also be
able to help you find the right activities in your community
that meets your needs to overcome fatigue and feel more
refreshed. Helping you engage in such activities is also a
wonderful way to make sure your family and friends can
participate along with you.
Persistent pain also causes stress, which can affect your
emotional and mental wellbeing. OTs can show clients how to
redirect their pain so that it interferes less in their daily lives.
They may achieve this by teaching relaxation and visualisation
activities that will make it easier for you to cope with the
feelings of loss, anger and other emotional challenges of
dealing with pain every day.
Finally, there is still a lot of stigma associated with having
persistent pain. It’s an invisible disability and, as such, the
public may have difficulty understanding and empathising.
OTs pride themselves on their role as advocates. As such,
OTs usually have good knowledge of community resources as
well as an understanding of the way the healthcare system
works. An OT may be able to help you navigate the system
and find the right resource to help you. If you have a question
about how to get more support, you can talk to an OT to get
some clever ideas.
In addition to the MSWA Occupational Therapy team, the
MSWA Counselling team also offer mindfulness meditation
workshops which can assist some people with managing
persistent pain.
If you are interested in finding out more about this
service please contact the MSWA Occupational Therapy
team on 9365 4854.
16 | MSWA BULLETIN WINTER 2017