Age as a Factor in Admission to Chronic Pain Rehabilitation

Abstract

Pain program admission policies do not exclude older patients by age but frequently include age-related criteria that disproportionately exclude the elderly. There is also evidence of an age bias in which age per se reduces perceived suitability for pain program admission.

Chronic Pain in Older Adults

“…Collaborative care interventions for chronic pain in older adults have been shown to improve a variety of outcome measures, including reductions in pain-related disability, pain intensity, and depression, in comparison with usual treatment. 30 However, some evidence suggests that older adults have historically experienced an age-related bias limiting referral for pain treatment, 31 and older adults demonstrate more physical problems than younger adults on initial presentation to pain management programs. 32 Available resources for clinicians include treatment guidelines and reviews focusing on older adults, which provide useful frameworks to guide pain management in later life.…”

Multimodale Gruppentherapie bei Senioren mit chronischen Schmerzen

“…Äl-tere Patienten sind jedoch in derartigen Therapieprogrammen unterrepräsentiert, obwohl der Anteil alter Menschen an der Bevölkerung ständig steigt und die Präva-lenz chronischer Schmerzen sich mit dem Alter erhöht [21].…”

Multidisciplinary treatment of benign chronic pain syndrome in substance abusing patients

“…This process is spurred by a pragmatic concern for survival in the managed cost environment prevalent in health care. In addition, there is the desire to further expand demonstrated efficacy to special groups of patients including the work injured [8], older and younger patients [9,10], and patients who have addictive disorders. A recent refinement of the multidisciplinary pain treatment approach has been an increased emphasis on occupational rehabilitation [11].…”