Top 5 Fridays! 5 Steps to Promote Self Management Strategies for People with Persistent Pain

5 Steps to Promote Self Management Strategies for People with Persistent Pain - themanualtherapist.com

When dealing with persistent musculoskeletal pain, promoting long term self-management strategies is essential for maintaining and restoring function.

5 key steps are utilized by clinicians to promote patient participation in self-management rather than searching for a cure.

5 Steps to Promote Self Management by Cameron Faller 👉Establish Rapport - Building a therapeutic alliance and establishing trust early on sets the tone for empowering patients to have the knowledge and skills to actively manage their condition.

👉Use an Active Approach - Setting clear expectations that patients' will be unlikely to find a cure reframes the ideology for the need of an active approach vs passive treatments

👉Identify Barrier and Goals - Encourage reflection on possible barriers that provoke symptoms or will impede progress. Establish short and long term goals to keep patients accountable.

👉Identify Optimal Strategies - Customize strategies towards meaningful activities the patient enjoys fostering an environment for behavior change.

👉Support Patient Problem Solving - Education extends far beyond the clinician telling the patient information. Supporting patient problem solving and critical thinking will likely lead to improved independence.

Developing a person-centered approach and customizing these steps appropriately to influence meaningful behavioral change appears to serve the most benefit to patients with persistent pain.

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Reference: Hutting N, Johnston V, Staal JB, Heerkens YF. Promoting the Use of Self-management Strategies for People With Persistent Musculoskeletal Disorders: The Role of Physical Therapists. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2019;49(4):212-215.

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