Synonyms
Reassurance and Activation
Definition
Activation and reassurance are interventions that have been used for the treatment of acute low back pain. They involve having the practitioner gain the patient’s confidence that they do not have a serious cause of pain, and that remaining active, or restoring activity, is beneficial for their recovery.
Characteristics
Systematic reviews have shown that bed rest is neither appropriate nor effective for acute low back pain (Koes and van den Hoogen 1994; Waddell et al. 1997). Bed rest offers no therapeutic advantages, and is less effective than alternative treatments in terms of rate of recovery, relief of pain, return to daily activities, and time lost from work. By inference, these results support keeping patients active.
Nevertheless, patients may harbour fears or misconceptions about their pain, which may inhibit their resumption of activities. Explanation and reassurance are required to overcome these fears.
Evidence
The study of Indahl...
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© 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Harding, G. (2007). Activation/Reassurance. In: Schmidt, R., Willis, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pain. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_46
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-29805-2_46
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-43957-8
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