Biofeedback and behavioral treatment of persistent pain in the older adult: a review and a study.
Persistent pain is a common health problem for older adults, age 60+, with a prevalence twice that in younger adults. Yet, older adults with chronic pain and headache are underrepresented in behaviorally oriented clinical programs that have proven effective for younger adults. A review of the literature indicates that older adults develop multiple pain-related problems that are similar to those of younger individuals. When offered the opportunity, older pain patients accept and benefit from multidisciplinary pain programs, cognitive-behavioral therapies and biofeedback training. A study comparing 58 older and 59 younger adults in a multidisciplinary pain program indicates that older pain patients readily acquire the physiological self-regulation skills taught in biofeedback-assisted relaxation training, and achieve comparable decreases in pain for the pain program as a whole.
Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Children's Hospital, Suite 525, PO Box 250912, 165 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, South Carolina 29425, USA. middaugs@musc.edu
Susan J
SJ
Middaugh
Kim
K
Pawlick
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D005260:Female; D005853:Geriatrics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D018710:Pain Clinics; D059408:Pain Management; D015995:Prevalence; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology