A 60-year-old male patient with a long history of back pain has had little success with a variety of analgesic regimens that his nurse practitioner has prescribed. He has recently been diagnosed formally with a chronic pain disorder. Which of the following teaching points about chronic pain would his nurse practitioner most likely emphasize to the patient? (Points : 0.4)
“If your pain comes and goes, then we won’t characterize it as chronic, and it will require different treatment.”
“You need to remind yourself that this is a purely physical phenomenon that requires physical treatment.”
“Our challenge is to bring you relief but still treat the underlying back problem that your body is telling you about.”
“These pain signals your body is sending likely serve no real, useful, or protective function.”
