Self-management of chronic pain by patients with arthritis
The insistent presence of pain for the millions of persons with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis can drastically reduce an individual's quality of life. Self-management approaches for arthritis pain relief are being emphasized and individuals needs a medley of pain management methods to select from to help manage arthritis pain; The Pain Management Inventory (PMI) was used in a descriptive design with a convenience sample (n = 91) to identify pain management methods individuals with arthritis use and find helpful. Exercising was the method used by the largest number of respondents and was also perceived as most helpful. The methods used by the second and third largest number of individuals were resting and pacing activities. In contrast, the second and third perceived most helpful methods were using a heated tub, pool or shower and taking medicine ordered by a physician; The demographic factors age, disability due to arthritis and how long the individual had experienced arthritis pain correlated with the use of at least one of the 22 methods indexed on the PMI.
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