Overcoming Pain Relief Obstacles

Nobody knows how many Americans suffer from chronic pain caused by illnesses including arthritis, migraines, and back difficulties. The American Pain Foundation estimates that up to 50 million people suffer from chronic pain.

Experts agree that there are considerable obstacles to effectively managing these individuals' pain. The American Pain Society refers to these "roadblocks to relief" as everything from a lack of reimbursement for pain treatment to physicians' incompetence to patients' views toward pain and medicines.

However, there have been recent indications that these hurdles may be eroding. And psychologists are assisting in this endeavor.

Patients may be hesitant to complain about pain for fear of being labeled "bad" patients in a culture where the attitude toward pain is summed up by clichés like "No pain, no gain" and "Grin and bear it." Others are concerned that pain could indicate a life-threatening condition such as cancer, or that the tests and methods used to detect and treat pain are ineffective.

According to Judith A. Turner, PhD, the Hughes M. and Katherine G. Blake Professor of Health Psychology at the University of Washington in Seattle, physicians' own attitudes can increase patients' hesitancy.

"Most clinicians are hesitant to meet patients with chronic pain because they can try all of their techniques and the client still returns," Turner explains. "Many patients report feeling abandoned when their doctors give up on them and say things like, 'This must be all in your brain,' or 'I don't know what else to do,' and throw up their hands."

According to Bob Gant, PhD, who has "inherited" several patients left dangling after unsuccessful back surgery, this attitude is unsurprising given that most physicians and other health-care providers have minimal training in pain management. According to him, medical school curricula cover essentially no topics related to pain management.

Gant, president of the Glen Lakes Clinic in Dallas and a liaison between the American Academy of Pain Management and the APA's Board of Professional Affairs, says, "Physicians do what they're educated to do." "They're interested in repairing joints if they're orthopedists. They're interested in surgery if they're surgeons. And so forth. They aren't equipped to deal with chronic discomfort on a long-term basis. People are suffering as a result of their caregivers' lack of knowledge about these concerns."