We must look at pain multi-dimensionally. We must look at all the factors that influence the entire person. Pain is not experienced in only one realm. Historically, pain has been treated uni-dimensionally, Dr. Ruzicka said. It often was treated pharmacologically - with pain medicine and that was it.
Acute pain reveals the etiology.
However, chronic pain is different. It often seems to have no purpose and has great potential to interrupt daily routines and social life. We need to look at different ways to treat it so that we can improve the quality of life of these elders. The physiological dimension was studied by asking each participant to rank pain on a scale from 1 to 10 and then describe the pain. The behavioral dimension studied how pain affects the person's mobility and daily activities.