At Home Senior Care Experts Comfort Keepers of Costa Mesa, CA: Senior Citizens and Dealing with Pain
Comfort Keepers At Home Senior Care Experts in Costa Mesa, CA discuss how you can help your senior loved one in dealing with pain in Costa Mesa and the Surrounding Areas
Pain is a sensation that causes discomfort or distress. It can lead to tightness, stiffness, or soreness and other problems such as fatigue, sleeplessness, a weakened immune system, fear, irritability, stress, and even depression.
Since it can affect all areas of a senior’s life, at home senior care experts warn that managing pain is essential. Without proper pain management, older adults will have a difficult time completing day-to-day tasks, participating in activities or hobbies, socializing with loved ones, and making the most out of their later years of life.
Acute vs. Chronic Pain
The body’s response to damage such as an infection, cut, or another physical injury is known as acute pain. Acute pain usually comes on quickly and goes away in a few weeks or months with the right treatment. Chronic pain differs from acute pain because it is persistent and can last for years. At home senior care experts say that some of the most common conditions that lead to chronic pain in senior citizens include arthritis, diabetes, back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, knee pain, fibromyalgia, and cancer.
Pain Treatments
While pain is difficult to live with, it can be managed through a variety of treatment options. Doctors and at home senior care experts often recommend the following treatments to older adults who are living with any type of pain:
- Medications: Non-opiate pain reducers, opiate pain reducers, anti-inflammatories, corticosteroids, topical pain reducers, and muscle relaxers are all examples of medications that may control a senior’s pain.
- Steroid Injections: Steroid injections can provide older adults with short term relief from back pain, neck pain, and a variety of other types of pain.
- Nerve Blocks: A nerve block is defined as an injection that is designed to reduce inflammation or turn off a pain signal along with a particular distribution of a nerve.
- Spinal Cord Stimulators: With spinal cord stimulators, a generator is surgically implanted into a senior’s body and programmed to shoot electricity pulses into the spinal cord to disrupt neurons that transmit pain.
- Integrative Care: Also known as holistic care, integrative care strategies for pain such as acupuncture, massage therapy, meditation, aromatherapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy may all assist an older adult in managing their pain.
In addition to these treatments, at home, senior care experts say that seniors with pain should practice healthy lifestyle habits. These healthy habits include regular exercise, a diet full of fruits, vegetables, fiber, and whole grains, quality sleep, and frequent socialization. With the right combination of treatments and lifestyle habits as well as a dedication to proper pain management, older adults can enjoy a high quality of life despite their pain.
