livingwithchronicpain

Anyone who suffers with a chronic pain condition knows the challenges involved to accomplish even the most common tasks.  What most people do everyday is automatic and routine.  But when chronic pain is included in the formula, things change.  These common activities are referred to by the healthcare community as ADLs or Activities of Daily Living.   According to the “Encyclopedia of Nursing & Allied Health”,  this is ‘an assessment for an individual’s physical and sometimes mental skills’.    It shows how a disabled person or one recovering from illness or accident can respond to his/her surroundings in their daily life.   The purpose of this is to maximize the possibility of independence by using adaptive devices and training, if needed. 

Evaluations for basic ADLs  include personal care such as bathing, toileting, eating, walking, etc.  These are the simple tasks we do each day.  Each is given a standardized score that reflects the amount of independence the person exhibits while doing them.  The Instrumental ADLs are the more complex tasks such as how well they function in their homes, workplace  and social environments.  Then, the evaluator attaches a score to these and many others that define the qualities needed for accomplishing them.  Now you have a basis for the crux of this blog…how pain affects ADLs.

So, ADLs are anything we do each day to meet the needs of our lives.  Naturally, anything that causes these actions to be delayed or diverted, makes our lives more difficult.  Whether it’s from illness or injury, chronic pain is a very real and debilitating condition. 

There is hope though for the people with limited abilities.   There are all kinds of adaptations to be had for just about any situation.  Personal  adaptations for items such as enhancements for combs, eating utensils, and moving heavy objects.  Another good example is the grasping claw for reaching objects on high shelves.  

Adapting the home environment is also possible to help with ambulation and personal independence.  Adding hand rails to stairs and walk ways  or adding a ramp for access to and from the home may be necessary for wheel chair users and  to avoid falls and injuries.  Even removing cluttered furnishings and opening up the space in the interior of the home is essential for people with not only ambulation difficulties, but also with vision and cognitive defecits, thus allowing room  for any assistive devices  to be utilized.  Be carefule to remove any loose rugs or other objects on floors to help eliminate the chance of falls.

Life with chronic pain is livable, if given the right tools with which to work.  The goal is to achieve the greatest amount of independence for the person involved and continued support in the ongoing  treatments for the pain.   With the correct adaptation, we can do just about anything.  We just have to know what we want to do and figure a way to accomplish it, then, if needed we make a tool to fit the need. 

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