Psychologic intervention for the elderly chronic pain patient

The growth of the aged population in this country mandates that more attention be given to the needs of the elderly chronic pain patient. Due to the difficulty in administering pharmacologic treatment to the elderly and to its insufficiency, increasing attention has been given to psychologically-based pain intervention. In contrast to other psychologic treatment, cognitive-behavioral approaches have been reported to be more effective with the elderly pain patient. Examination of age, as a predictor of treatment outcome, has indicated that the elderly can participate and benefit from such intervention as can higher younger counterpart. Self-efficacy has been found to covary with treatment success. Operant and biofeedbackassisted procedures have been largely found helpful in reducing pain-related behaviors in the elderly. Taking the special needs of the elderly into consideration, proper pacing of the patient, valid functional analysis, and proper assessment tools are clearly required to enhance the success of any intervention for the elderly chronic pain patient.