SSPN educates public on pains management

As part of activities to improve on, and manage pains, thereby reducing mortality, the Society for the Study of Pains, Nigeria (SSPN) has incorporated various programmes to mark its 19th Conference, with stakeholders in healthcare services.

This was made known at an event organised by the group at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, which witnessed a huge presence of medical practitioners, students and policy-makers, stakeholders.

The event provided an avenue to explore causes and management of pains in all joints in the body.The discussion also included pains in the hip, shoulder, knee, low pain and tempero-mandibular joints.

President, SSPN, Prof. Folayemi Faponle, who spoke on the topic entitled: “Joint Pain: Celebrates with people to reflect on how the country can improve on management of healthcare,” enjoined everybody to increase awareness that treatments for joint disorders and conditions can significantly reduce or even be eliminated so that patients can be productive at work, school and enjoy a higher quality of life.

She also disclosed that the annual conference was the third held in Lagos and has brought together all members of the society in our common goals at improving pain management, network and sharing experiences.

Faponle noted that when people are passing through pains, families and friends will know it is a very delicate and sensitive time of their lives; as a result they need more care, time and love from healthcare givers or skilled attendants.

while urging them to visit the hospitals early to access to affordable medical care, which would reduce problems of agony, sorrow and death.For Dr. Aderonke Akinpelu, First Vice President, SSPN, she canvassed that people should improve on their lifestyles through good nutrition, exercises, sleeping and less stress to avoid obesity and other related diseases.

She urged people living with pains to visit the hospital early and avoid patronising quacks, among others, while charging medical regulatory bodies to check the activities of quacks that have sent a lot of people to untimely graves.

Akinpelu eulogised the members and professional health caregivers at the conference “who have used all the expertise, facilities to assist various patients in different pains management both at the event and outside”.

In her presentation, entitled “Nursing Care of Patients with Joint Pain”, Dr. Adenike Olaogun of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile- Ife, said that, “there are two ways assessment of joint pains – PQRST Pain Assessment Method and Physical Assessment.” She explained that there are different causes of discomfort of pain or inflammation from any part of a joint, they are autoimmune diseases infections, injury inflammations and usual stress-sprain and other ways to manage them.

Others at the event were the first Nigerian rheumatologist, Prof. Olufemi Adelowo, who was the keynote lecturer; Dr. Nnaji, who spoke on “Overview of low pain’; Dr. Adeoye, “Discogenic pain’; and Mrs. Oseni, “Pain, the fifth vital sign”.