Pain, one of the most frequently mentioned problems by the elderly; It is a complex process that occurs due to a sensory stimulus or neural damage and changes according to the person's memory, expectations and emotional structure.
The rate of diseases that are not reported and recorded in medical records in the elderly is quite high, because the elderly or elderly Their relatives do not apply to health institutions, considering many symptoms to be normal for old age. Despite this, it is known that the incidence of pain in the elderly is quite high.
The elderly constitute an important risk group in terms of chronic pain, and pain in this age group paves the way for the emergence of serious problems. Among these problems, depression, anxiety, social isolation, sleep disorders, ambulation-mobility problems attract attention and there are significant increases in the use of health services and treatment costs. It should be taken into consideration that persistent pain increases walking disorders in the elderly, slows down rehabilitation efforts, and that medications used for pain cause many side effects.
Treatment options for pain in the elderly range from drug therapy to interventional pain treatment. Choosing the appropriate drug in drug treatment, choosing a short-acting drug, prescribing a single drug at a time, starting the treatment at low doses, increasing the dose in a controlled and slow manner if necessary, knowing the side effects of the drug, knowing the side effects of drug combinations, continuing the drug for as long as necessary. It is important to do. Although there are many medications used to control pain, some of them are not recommended for use, especially in elderly patients; Physicians need to be well-equipped, especially in matters related to these drugs.
Waist and leg pains are common, especially in the elderly, due to the aging of the spine. The pain felt more in the waist area is due to the disorder in the facet joints of the spine. Pain localized in the waist can be relieved by applying radiofrequency current to the facet joint. Spreading from waist to legs The pain is mostly nerve compression due to a herniated disc, and patients can remain pain-free with pulsed radiofrequency current therapy applied to this nerve. The approach to the problem of pain, which significantly affects the quality of life in the elderly, should be a scientific and realistic evaluation and treatment within a multidisciplinary structure.
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