Revising the negative meaning of chronic pain : A phenomenological study

Objectives Chronic pain may disable the body, depress the mind and ruin the quality of life. The aim of this study was to use the participants’ personal experiences to explore the meaning of the experience of chronic pain and to find successful ways to manage chronic pain. Methods Thirty-four participants with chronic pain were interviewed. The transcribed interviews were analysed using Giorgi’s phenomenological method consisting of four phases: (1) reading the transcriptions several times, (2) discriminating meaning units, (3) collecting meaning units into groups and (4) the synthesis. Results The participants stated that the key to managing chronic pain was to reconsider the individual me…

Influence of tooth loss on mandibular morphology : a cone-beam computed tomography study

Background Tooth loss adversely affects patients’ health and psychosocial wellbeing. In addition, it changes mandibular morphology. Objective: To evaluate the effect of tooth loss, age, and gender on mandibular morphology. Material and Methods Cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) scans of 101 patients were examined to measure the gonial angle (GA), ramus height (RH) and condylar height (CH). Patients’ age, gender, and dental status were recorded. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the impact of gender, age, and tooth loss on the GA, RH and CH. The mean measurements of the GA, RH and CH were compared between dentate/edentulous patients after splitting by gende…

Chronic pain affects the whole person--a phenomenological study.

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore participants' perspectives on the effects of chronic pain on the psychophysical unity.Thirty-four chronic pain outpatients were interviewed, and the transcribed interviews were analysed with Giorgi's four-phase phenomenological method. The mean age of the participants was 48 years, and 19 of them were women. For 21 of the participants, the pain duration was more than 5 years, and most had degenerative spinal pain.The results of this whole research project indicated that the phenomenon chronic pain consisted of four essential themes: Pain affects the whole person, invisibility, negativity, and dominance of pain. This study concentrates only on…

Revising the negative meaning of chronic pain – a phenomenological study

Although unseen, chronic pain is real–A phenomenological study

Abstract Background Research has emphasised the essential role of psychosocial risk factors in chronic pain. In practice, pain is usually verified by identifying its physical cause. In patients without any distinct pathology, pain is easily defined as imaginary pain. The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the invisibility of chronic pain, from the patients’ perspective. Methods Thirty-four participants with chronic pain were interviewed. The mean age of the participants was 48 years, and 19 of them were women. For 21 of the participants, the duration of pain was more than five years, and most of the participants had degenerative spinal pain. The transcribed interviews were analyse…

Reliability and validity study of the Finnish version of the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ).

Acceptance has been discovered to be successful in improving quality of life when adjusting to chronic pain. Instead of avoiding and controlling the pain, the goal is to confront the pain and to live a value directed life. Thus far, there has not been an instrument in Finnish to assess the acceptance of chronic pain. This study aimed at translating the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire-(CPAQ)-into Finnish and assessing its reliability and validity.Eighty-one persons with different types of chronic pain responded to the CPAQ, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), RAND-36 and questions of sociodemographic and pain-related variables.The responders' ages varied from 16 to 83 years (mean = 48…

The Dominance of Chronic Pain: A Phenomenological Study

Background Chronic pain is not only a physical disorder, but also a complex combination of biopsychosocial symptoms affecting each other. When in chronic pain, the patient's entire body becomes a source of pain, and eventually the pain occupies the patient's mind and entire life. The aim of the present study was to examine the life experience and management of chronic pain from the patient's perspective. Methods Thirty-four participants with chronic pain were interviewed. For 21 of the participants, the duration of pain was more than five years. Most of the participants had degenerative spinal pain. The transcribed interviews were analysed using Giorgi's four-phase phenomenological method. …