Active Despite Pain: Patient Experiences With Guided Imagery With Relaxation Compared to Planned Rest.

Inadequate pain control remains a threat to the quality of life of patients with cancer. Guided imagery with relaxation (GIR) is a mind-body therapy that has shown promise in reducing chronic pain. This article discusses a qualitative, descriptive study for which the objective was to compare the experiences of patients with cancer with reported pain using GIR compared to planned rest.

Efficacy of guided imagery with relaxation for osteoarthritis symptoms and medication intake.

Supporting safe self-management interventions for symptoms of osteoarthritis (OA) may reduce the personal and societal burden of this increasing health concern. Self-management interventions might be even more beneficial if symptom control were accompanied by decreased medication use, reducing cost and potential side effects. Guided imagery with relaxation (GIR) created especially for OA may be a useful self-management intervention, reducing both symptoms and medication use.

Experiences of women with osteoarthritis in assisted living facilities.

Purpose: Osteoarthritis is one of the most common causes of disability in older adults. To help patients self-manage their arthritis, nurses need a better understanding of experiences of living with arthritis. Many older adults with symptomatic osteoarthritis may reside in supportive housing such as assisted living facilities.

Effect of guided imagery with relaxation on health-related quality of life in older women with osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of disability in older adults, which, in turn, leads to poor quality of life (QOL). Disability is caused primarily by the joint degeneration and pain associated with OA. A randomized pilot study was conducted to test the effectiveness of guided imagery with relaxation (GIR) to improve health-related QOL (HRQOL) in women with OA.

A pilot study of the effectiveness of guided imagery with progressive muscle relaxation to reduce chronic pain and mobility difficulties of osteoarthritis.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common, chronic condition that affects most older adults. Adults with OA must deal with pain that leads to limited mobility and may lead to disability and difficulty maintaining independence. A longitudinal, randomized clinical trial pilot study was conducted to determine whether Guided Imagery (GI) with Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) would reduce pain and mobility difficulties of women with OA.

Self-caring of women with osteoarthritis living at different levels of independence.

Successful management of chronic conditions such as osteoarthritis (OA) may improve health and quality of life and foster independence. Health professionals need to understand what women do to manage their OA by self-caring in order to support the improvement of health in older adults. A descriptive study of difficulties of living with and self-caring of OA was conducted.

Holding on self-caring with osteoarthritis.

As women age, they frequently have increasing difficulties with physical functioning associated with osteoarthritis (OA). An understanding of how elderly adults care for their health is necessary to assist older women to live independently. Self-care of five community-dwelling women with OA was investigated through an interpretative descriptive study.