Qualitative meta‐synthesis: the experience of chronic pain across conditions

Abstract

The findings in this review suggest there are similarities in the experience of chronic pain across a range of conditions that have implications for the development of transdiagnostic pain management strategies and interventions.

A qualitative exploration of the experiences of living with and being treated for fibromyalgia

“…Somewhat in contrast to certain previous findings (e.g. Crowe et al, 2017 ; Sorensen and Christiansen, 2017 ), which suggested that people were primarily motivated to maintain existing lifestyles and relationships, our data pointed to a movement in some participants to, instead, reformulate their lives, support networks and roles around fibromyalgia. The data suggested that an important part of new relationships was the sense of understanding and validation which was lacking elsewhere.…”

“…Often for the first time in the participants’ lives, their body had become discordant with not only their own intentions but also the social and physical world around them. Two themes outlined in Crowe et al’s (2017) review of chronic pain studies, termed ‘body as obstacle’ and ‘disrupted sense of self’, which describe how bodily symptoms interfere with lifestyle and identity, have resonance with our themes describing changes to participants’ family roles and working identity. Frustration and depression are commonly described consequences of these disruption of activities, goals and aspirations in previous work (e.g.…”

Meanings of “acceptance” for patients with long-term pain when starting rehabilitation

“…Reviews, syntheses and meta syntheses can be found in diagnosis related groups i.e. such as low back pain (Bunzli, Watkins, Smith, Schutze, & O'Sullivan, 2013;Froud et al, 2014;MacNeela, Doyle, O'Gorman, Ruane, & McGuire, 2015;, fibromyalgia (Sim & Madden, 2008) and in long-term musculoskeletal pain conditions (Crowe et al, 2017;Löfgren, Schüldt Ekholm, Schult, & Ekholm, 2016;Osborn & Rodham, 2010;Toye et al, 2013;Toye, Seers, Hannink, & Barker, 2017).…”

How Army Veterans Cope with Chronic Pain: A Grounded Theory Approach

“…However, to date, there are no veteran or military personnel-specific coping scales. Whilst the National Institute for Clinical Excellence does advocate that CP management needs to incorporate valid assessment measures (Grady, 2015), general coping scales have validity and reliability issues (Crowe et al, 2017;Donoghue, 2005). Furthermore, questionnaires are often only administered once rather than longitudinally, so they may not factor stages of coping.…”