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The authors of a recent study published in the Journal of the American Directors Association aimed to promote quality end-of-life (EOL) care for nursing home residents, through the establishment of advance care plan (ACP) and introduction of a new care pathway” for new comorbidities, including pain. The authors enrolled 76 older nursing home residents and monitored the ratio of clinical to emergency admissions, ACP compliance rate, average length of stay (ALOS) in both acute hospital and an extended-care facility, and chronic pain conditions. The study results indicate that “nearly 40% of EOL patients could be managed entirely in an extended-care setting [...]

The authors of a recent study published in Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine evaluate the evidence of whether massage therapy (MT) is effective for neck pain in older adults. The authors conducted a randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified through searches of 5 literature databases using the following search terms: “neck pain, neck disorders, cervical vertebrae, massage.” The authors conclude that “there were no valid lines of evidence of massage therapy on improving dysfunction,” and that “high quality RCTs are urgently needed to confirm these results and continue to compare massage therapy with other active therapies for neck pain.” Full [...]

The authors of a recent study published in Current Pharmaceutical Design examined the relationship between pain and obesity in older adults. The authors found “cross-sectional studies that revealed a high correlation between pain and obesity, and a few longitudinal studies that implicate obesity as a risk factor for the development of pain and the associated reduction in quality of life.” However, the authors conclude that “more research is warranted to elucidate the links between obesity and pain and to determine the optimal treatment strategies for reducing these comorbities.” Full Story

The authors of a recent study published in the British Journal of Nursing conducted an extended literature review to identify barriers older adults encounter when self-reporting their chronic pain. The authors found that “attitudes such as stoicism, beliefs such as pain being a necessary part of ageing, and the external barriers generated by health professionals, all have a multidimensional relationship with the 'decision' to seek help for pain.” The results imply that there is a need for  “improved communication between health professionals and patients during the more comprehensive assessment of chronic pain.” Full Story

The authors of a recent study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society “evaluated medications prescribed for pain pre- and post withdrawal to determine if there was an association with fall events among elderly patients with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis.” The authors enrolled 13,354 patients, aged 65–89, with a diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA) who were examined for fall fractures in association with analgesic prescriptions.  The authors conclude that “Narcotic analgesic prescriptions were associated with a significantly increased risk of falls/fractures.” Full Story

The authors of a recent study published in Clinical Interventions in Aging designed a “new shoe insole and explored the effectiveness of the insole in improving balance and alleviating foot pain in healthy older adults.” The authors enrolled older adult patients age 65 and older without abnormal gait patterns, or lower limb deformities. Each participant was assigned to good- and poor-stability groups and were required to wear the insole for 8 weeks. The authors found that “a heel cup with arch support insole is effective in enhancing the standing balance of the elderly,” and that it “may be of benefit in [...]

The authors of a recent study published in International Journal of Audiology “evaluated the occurrence of 27 chronic medical conditions in a cohort of older adults with and without hearing impairment, and to examine the association between these conditions and hearing ability.” The authors enrolled 890 hearing-impaired and 975 normal-hearing participants and found that “dizziness causing falling, diabetes and arthritis were significantly associated with poor hearing ability.” Full Story

The authors of a recent study published in Arthritis Research and Therapy described the “cross-sectional associations between popliteal cysts, pain, knee symptoms and structural abnormalities in older adults.” The authors enrolled 900 older adults who completed a questionnaire that assessed knee pain, stiffness, and dysfunction. The results indicate that “popliteal cysts were significantly associated with increased weight-bearing knee pain” among older adults. Full Story

The authors of a recent study published in BMC Geriatrics evaluated the “association between falls and chronic pain in order to determine whether pain is associated with a greater risk of falling.” The authors enrolled 16, 357 community-dwelling older adults who were age 65 and older. The authors found that fall risk was significantly greater in individuals who reported high pain intensity. Full Story

The authors of a recent study published in Complementary Therapy in Medicine examined the effects of “massage with aromatic ginger oil (SMGO) on chronic low back pain and disability in older adults compared with traditional Thai massage (TTM).” The authors enrolled 140 older adults patients who were randomly selected to participate in either the SMGO group or the TTM group. The authors found that both “SMGO and TTM led to significant improvements in pain intensity and disability, indicating immediate, short- and long-term effectiveness,” and that, “the integration of either SMGO or TTM therapy as additional options to provide holistic care to [...]