Helping the elderly get past their pain

By Seth Schniebolk

For some older adults fighting chronic pain, treatment from gerontology professionals like Katherine Beissner can be as easy as imagining yourself in a relaxed state. She recounts what she says in a typical session with a patient struggling with persistent pain.

“Remember a time and place when you felt happy and pain free,” Beissner would say in a calm, monotone voice.

“Close your eyes and imagine you are on a white sandy beach,” she continues. “Do you smell the sand in the ocean? Focus on breathing slow and deep, in and out. Do you hear the sounds of the waves crashing? Lastly, what do you feel? Is there a breeze going across you, the warm sun on your back?”

The exercise is meant to make the patient feel at ease and give your mind a chance to let your body and muscles unwind.

It can be that easy for some, or it can be much more difficult

Beissner, a professor at Ithaca College for 23 years have studied Gerontology since 1980 and has focused her attention on chronic pain among older adults for the last 20.

According to gerontologist Mark Novak, author of Issues of Aging, a chronic illness is defined as a long-term illness or condition, often a life-long problem. Since there is no known cure for a life-long condition such as arthritis, gerontologists instead have to find a way to minimize the pain as best they can.

Beissner research team at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York has been working since January on the best way to help older adults cope with their persistent pain. Although some forms of medications such as pain killers and acupuncture have shown some help for chronic pain among older adults, Beissner’s research shows that to reach the patient on a deeper level psychology has to come into effect.

“There’s a good amount of research out there that shows that pain-self management strategies, cognitive behavioral strategies have been effective in reducing the impact of chronic pain,” Beissner said.

Cognitive behavioral strategies, in simpler terms, are ways for people to alleviate their chronic pain by using deep breathing exercises, muscle relaxation exercises, or visual imagery. Research has shown that these types of activities that helps your brain slow down it’s functioning will ultimately help with the discomfort.

Dr. John Krout, a professor at Ithaca College in the Gerontology department thinks there are other factors beyond cognitive behavioral strategies that help older adults with chronic pain. Krout is a firm believer of maintaining a person’s mental and physical health for helping with pain. Krout said if he were to begin a study on how to reduce chronic pain among older people he would break up test patients into several groups, all of whom would be given a different primary treatment.

“I would take a drug that basically stops some of the messages that the nerve are sending to the brain that says ‘I’m hurting’. It doesn’t actually do anything for the symptoms, but it disrupts the pain point to the brain,” Krout said. “How would that compare to someone who just uses meditation, or yoga. Someone who changes his or her diet. Someone who does core strengthening exercises or physical training.

By having three or four separate trials at the same time, Krout believes there could be a clearer solution to helping the chronic pain that comes with aging.

Claudia Stoscheck, a social worker at Longview, estimates that about 25% of the 175 residents living at Longview suffer from chronic pain. She added that the number could be higher, but some choose not to announce their pain for one reason or another.

Flora Schwartz, 84, says that she deals with her pain by slowing down her movements and thinking about the easiest way to get around.

“It’s only normal when you get older your body begins to have pain,” she said. “I have to step on every stair when I walk downstairs. I keep plates and glasses in easy reach. If I have to strain to do something there’s a good chance I’ll have pain later on, so I try to avoid it.”

Beissner’s group has found some very useful information, but nothing concrete yet. There are more scheduled test periods within the next two weeks, with a final conclusion for the study estimated for May.

Beissner hopes that with complete results and solid information, she can begin to make an impact on the community. With Longview, an older person care facility in Ithaca Beissner would like to eventually bring some of her students to help residents with their pain.

If everything goes to plan, Beissner says that the people of Longview could benefit tremendously.

“Once we have the facts, I would like to bring some of my physical training students to Longview and have them work with the people there. I estimate there are about 65% struggling with some kind of pain,” although she admits that number is not exact. “Nobody wants this for themselves. Nobody wants to stay at home. So my goal is just to see older people lead as active of a life as possible and be happy.”