Total pain concept: Multisensory stimulation, exercise therapy and coping skill training for community-dwelling older persons with chronic pain

Multi-sensory stimulation has been advocated as a strategy in chronic pain management as a potential to induce relaxation and a calming effect. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of multisensory stimulation exercise therapy (MSET) and multisensory stimulation coping therapy (MSCT) on pain reduction, physical mobility enhancement and psychological wellbeing of the community-dwelling elderly. Study group: Two community elderly centers (n = 82) were approached and randomized as MSET group (n = 43) and MSCT group (n = 39). Methods: It was a quasi- experimental pre-post test design. Both the MSET and the MSCT consisted of 6 sessions of 1.5 hours each. Demographic data and any non-drug strategies used by participants were collected. Pain intensity, physical mobility and psychological wellbeing were also assessed. Results: 43 older persons with mean age 72.4 ± 9.59 were recruited in the MSET group and 39 older persons with mean age 71.9 ± 8.4 were recruited in the MSCT group. Pain intensities were significantly reduced (p<0.05) and the use of non-drug strategies for pain relief was significantly increased (p<0.05) in both groups. The MSET group showed significant improvement in physical activity (p<0.05), while the MSCT group experienced a significant improvement in the anxiety scale (p<0.05). Both the MSET and the MSCT group showed significant improvement in the happiness scale (p<0.05). Conclusions: Both the MSET and the MSCT contained the essential component of pain reduction, which should be included in the pain management program so as to yield the most effective pain relief method for older people.