Performing occupations under pain: the experience of persons with chronic pain

Abstract

Chronic pain is known as a complex and subjective phenomenon that challenges healthcare professionals who coach and support clients with chronic pain. The aim of this study was to explore how persons with chronic pain experienced their occupational performance. Eight persons suffering from chronic pain were interviewed and the data was analysed with the constant comparative method. Three themes were identified: "Performing is an ongoing attraction", "Getting used to taking breaks is not easy", and "The challenge to finish performing". "Performing is an ongoing attraction" illustrates the innate need of every human being to be active and also how pleasurable occupations do not influence pain. The ongoing thoughts and emotions while participants stop their performance are described in "Getting used to taking breaks is not easy". This stop and go during every occupation is discussed in the perspective of temporality and occupational performance. In "The challenge to finish performing" the participants describe how they complete certain occupations despite pain. This is discussed with the focus on distraction and flow experience.

The Impact of Chronic Low Back Pain on Daily Occupations: A Qualitative Study in Iranian Context

“…In accordance with the present study, previous studies had also emphasized on chronic pain as a barrier for doing occupations [6,[16][17][18][19]. However, the occupational therapy perspective was the main focus of this present study.…”

Patients’ experiences of chronic non-malignant musculoskeletal pain: a qualitative systematic review

“…I am still me and can enjoy my life When I finally did accept the fact that, okay, I wasn't going to be able to (28,35,42,61,70,71,68,69,96,99,104,107) work and that I was going to have to do things differently ... I shifted my energies ... to the stuff that gives me pleasure (96).…”

Losing faith: the patients waiting years for specialist pain treatment

“…• Chronic pain affects the choice of and level of engagement in occupation (Aegler & Satnik, 2009) (2+). Occupational therapists are trained to manage functional difficulty in the workplace (COT 2009).…”