Spirituality and religion in pain and pain management
Pain relief is a management problem for many patients, their families, and the medical professionals caring for them. Although every one experiences pain to some degree, respons es to it vary from one person to another. Recognizing and specifying someone else’s pain is clinically a well know challenge. Research on the biology and neurobiology of pain has given us a relationship between spir ituality and pain. There is growing recognition that persistent pain is a complex and multidi mensional experience stemming from the interrelations among biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors. Patients with pain use a number of cognitive and behavioral strategies to cope with their pain, including religious/spiritual factors, such as prayers, and seeking spiritual support to manage their pain. This article provides an overview of the com plex phenomenon of pain, with a focus on spir itual and religious issues in pain manage ment.
1. White L, Duncan G. Medical surgical nursing: an integrated approach. 2nd Ed. New York: Delmar Thomson Learning; 2002.
2. Solimine MA. Spirituality. In: Hoeman SP, ed. Rehabilitation nursing process, application and outcomes. 3rd Ed. St Louis: Mosby Corporation; 2002.
3. Cusick J. Spirituality and voluntary pain. APS Bulletin 2003. Available from: http://www.ampainsoc.org/pub/bulletin/sep03/path1.htm. Accessed on: 18 Aug 2005.
4. Goldberg B. Connection: an exploration of spirituality in nursing care. JAN 1998;27:836-42.
5. Unruch A. Spirituality, religion, and pain. Can J Nurs Res 2007;39:66-86.
6. Kelly F. Spiritualitiy and the celtic tiger period:change experienced by senior business leaders in the South East of Ireland. 2011. Available from: http://repository.wit.ie/1642/1/Spirituality_and_the_Celtic_Tiger_period_-_changes_experiences_by_senior_business_leaders_in_the_South_East_of_Ireland.pdf. Accessed on: 20 July 2012.
7. Eccleston C. Role of psychology in pain management. BJA 2001;87:144-52.
8. Crombez G, Vlaeyen JW, Heuts PH, Lysens R. Pain-related fear is more disabling than pain itself: evidence on the role of pain-related fear in chronic back pain disability. Pain 1999;80:329-39.
9. Means-Christensen AJ, Roy-Byrne PP, Sherbourne CD, et al. Relationships among pain, anxiety, and depression in primary care. Depress Anxiety 2008;25:593-600.
10. Franck LS, Greenberg CS, Stevens B. Pain assessment in infants and children. Pediatr Clin North Am 2000;47:486-512.
11. Galloway KS, Yaster M. Pain and symptom control in terminally ill children. Pediatr Clin North Am 2000;47:711-46.
12. Wachholtz AB, Pearce MJ, Koenig H. Exploring the relationship between spirituality, coping, and pain. J Behav Med 2007;30:311-8.
13. Wachholtz AB, Pearce MJ. Shaking the blues away: energizing spiritual practices for the treatment of chronic pain. In: Plante TG, ed. Contemplative practices in action. Spirituality,meditation, and health. Santa Barbara: Praeger; 2010.
14. Baetz ZM, Bowen R. Chronic pain and fatigue: associations with religion and spirituality. Pain Res Manag 2008;13:383-8.
15. Snyder A. Complementary and alternative therapies. In: Monahan FD, Sands JK, Neighbors M, et al, eds. Phipps medical-surgical nursing: health and illness perspectives. 8th Ed. St Louis: Mosby Elsevier; 2007.
16. Unruch A. Spirituality, religion, and pain. Can J Nurs Res 2007;39:66-86.
17. Koening HG. Chronic pain: biomedical and spiritual approaches. New York: The Haworth Pastoral Press; 2003.
18. Smith TB, McCullough ME, Poll J. Religiousness and depression: evidence for a main effect and the moderating influence of stressful life events. Psychol Bull 2003;129:614-36.
19. Whitford H, Oliver I, Peterson M. Spirituality as a core domain in the assessment of quality of life in oncology. Psycho-Oncol 2008;17:1121-8.
20. Newberg A, Pourdehnad M, Abass A, d’Aquili E. Cerebral blood flow during meditative prayer: preliminary findings and methodological issues. Percept Mot Skills 2003;97:625-30.
21. Ashby J, Lenhart R. Prayer as a coping strategy for chronic pain patients. Rehabil Psychol 1994;39:205-9.
22. Sheehan M. Spirituality and the care of people with life threatening illness. Tech Reg Anesth Pain Manag 2005;9:109-13.
23. O’Connell-Edwards C, Edwards C, Pearce M, et al. Religious coping and pain associated with sickle cell disease: exploration of a non-linear model. J Afr Am St 2009;13:1-13.
24. Mueller PS, Plevak DJ, Rummans TA. Religious involvement, spirituality, and medicine: Implications for clinical practice. Mayo Clin Proc 2001;76:1225-35.
25. Rippentrop E. A review of the role of religion and spirituality in chronic pain populations. Rehabil Psychol 2005;50:278-84.
26. Ano GG, Vasconcelles EB. Religious coping and psychological adjustment to stress: A meta-analysis. J Clin Psychol 2005;61:461-80.
27. Bussing A, Michalsen A, Balzat H, et al. Are spirituality and religiosity resources for chronic pain conditions? Pain Med 2009;10:327-39.
28. Dezutter J, Luyckx K, Bussing A, Hutsebaut D. Exploring the link between religious attitudes and subjective well-being in chronic pain patients. Int J Psychiatr Med 2009;39:393-404.
29. d’Aquili E, Laughling C. The biopsychological determinates of religious ritual behavior. Zygon J Relig Sci 1975;10:32-58.
30. Affleck G, Urrows S, Tennen H, Higgins P. Appraisals of control and predictability in adapting to a chronic disease. J Pers Soc Psychol 1998;53:273-9.
31. Baldacchino D, Draper P. Spiritual coping strategies. A review of the nursing literature. JAN 2001;34:833-41.
32. Abbot NC, Harkness EF, Stevinson C, et al. Spiritual healing as a therapy for chronic pain: a randomized, clinical trial. Pain 2001;91:79-89.
33. Moreira-Almeida A, Koening HG. Religiousness and spirituality in fibromyalgia and chronic pain patients. Curr Pain Headache Rep 2008;12:327-32.
34. Wachholtz AB, Pearce MJ. Does spirituality as a coping mechanism help or hinder coping with chronic pain? Curr Pain Headache Rep 2009;13:127-32.
35. Rippentrop EA, Altmaier EM, Chen JJ, et al. The relationship between religion/spirituality and physical health, mental health, and pain in a chronic pain population. Pain 2005;116:311-21.
36. Keefe FJ, Affleck G, Lefebure J, et al. Living with rheumatoid arthritis: the role of daily spirituality and daily religious and spiritual coping. J Pain 2001;2:101-10.
37. Wachholtz AB, Keefe JF.What physicians should know about spirituality and chronic pain. South Med Assoc 2006;99:1174-5.
38. Glover-Graf N, Marini I, Buck J. Religious and spiritual beliefs and practices of persons with chronic pain. Rehabil Counsel Bull 2007;51:21-33.
39. Pargament KI, Smith BW, Koening HG, Perez C. Patterns of positive and negative religious coping with major life stressors. J Sci Study Religion 1998;37:710-24.
40. Bussing A, Michalsen A, Balzat HJ, et al. Are spirituality and religiosity resources for patients with chronic pain conditions? Pain Med 2009;10:327-39.
41. Bush E, Rye M, Brant C, et al. Religious coping with chronic pain. Appl Psychol Biofeedback 1999;24:249-60.
42. Wiech K, Farias M, Kahane G, et al. An fMRI study measuring analgesia enhanced by religion as a belief system. Pain 2009;139:467-76.
43. Dunn KS, Horgas AL. Religious and nonreligious coping in older adults experiencing chronic pain. Pain Manag Nurs 2004;5:19-28.
44. Wachholtz A, Pargament K. Is spirituality a critical ingredient of meditation? Comparing the effects of spiritual meditation, secular meditation, and relaxation on spiritual, psychological, cardiac, and pain outcomes. J Behav Med 2005;28:369-84.
45. Wachholtz A, Pargament A. Migranes and meditation: does spirituality matter? J Behav Med 2008;31:351-66.
46. Cumming JP, Pargament KI. Medicine for the spirit: religious coping in individuals with medical conditions. Religions 2010;1:28-53.
47. Carteret M. Cultural aspects in pain management. 2010. Available from: http://www.dimensionsofculture.com/category/cultural-health-beliefs-behaviors/page/2/.
48. Ozer S. Quality of life in patients with heart failure: ask the patients. Heart&Lung 2009;38:100-8.
49. Dedeli O, Fadiloglu C, Uyer M. A survey cognitive behavioural model of pain in patient with chronic nonmalignan pain. MN-J Intern Med 2008;3:232-42. [Article in Turkish].
50. Afsar F, Pinar R. Kanser hastalarinda agri ve agri ile basetme yöntemlerinin degerlendirilmesi. Ataturk Universitesi Hemsirelik Yuksekokulu Dergisi 2003;6:19-28. [Article in Turkish].
51. Babaoglu E, Oz F. Terminal dönem kanser hastasina bakim veren eslerin duygusal ve sosyal sorunlari arasindaki iliski. Hemsirelikte Arastirma Gelistirme Dergisi 2003;2:24-33. [Article in Turkish].
52. Karakavak G, Cirak Y. Kronik hastalikli cocugu olan annelerin yasadigi duygular. Egitim Fakultesi Dergisi 2006;7:95-112. [Article in Turkish].
53. Sulu E. Yogun bakimda yatan cocuk hastalarin annelerinin manevi bakim (spirituel bakim) gereksinimleri. Doctoral Thesis Ege University Institute of Health Sciences. Izmir: Turkey; 2006.
54. Mardiyono MNS, Songwathana P, Petpichetchian W. Spirituality intervention and outcomes: corner stone of holistic practice. Nurse Media JNurs 2011;1:117-27.
55. Howard V. A holistic approach to pain. Nurs Times 2001;97:34-5.
56. Thoresen CE. Spirituality and health: is there a relationship? J Health Psychol 1999;4:291-300.
57. Seeman TE, Dubin LF, Seeman M. Religiosity/spirituality and health. A critical review of the evidence for biological pathways. Am Psychol 2003;58:53-63.
58. Meador K. Spiritual care at the end of life. What is it and who does it? NC Med J 2004;65:226-8.