Common Pain Conditions in Older People course for Nurses

This session describes some of the most common conditions that cause pain in older people, the management of these conditions and the general principles of pain management in this population.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Identify some of the common causes of pain in older people
• Describe the presenting features of some of the more common pain conditions that affect older people, including post-herpetic neuralgia, back pain, vascular insufficiency, osteoarthritis and central post-stroke pain
• Describe the treatment of the more common pain conditions that affect older people
• List the principle differences in pain management in the elderly population

Chronic pain conditions are common in the elderly.

Epidemiological studies show that the incidence of pain increases with age, and is reported by about half of those aged over 65 years.