Considerations for complementary and alternative interventions for pain

Abstract

Nurses play an important role in pain management. When considering strategies for effective pain management, nurses must consider and be able to provide information about complementary and alternative therapies. Awareness of alternative interventions for pain extends across herbal therapies, energy medicine, and mind-body exercises. Treatment regimens that integrate conventional therapies with alternative therapies based on the medical systems of non-Western cultures may affect outcomes positively through medical interactions. Nurses should question patients and families about complementary health practices to determine whether they may affect postsurgical recovery and also to determine the level of openness to alternative practices that have evidence of success or equivalency in managing pain.

Keywords: complementary and alternative therapies; holistic; homeopathic; naturopathic; non-Western medicine; pain management; rehabilitation.