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Men's descriptions of their experience of nonmalignant pain of fibromyalgia type
Author(s) -
Paulson Margareta,
Danielson Ella,
Larsson Kenneth,
Norberg Astrid
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1046/j.1471-6712.2001.1510054.x
Subject(s) - worry , fibromyalgia , acknowledgement , qualitative research , narrative , psychology , perception , health care , medicine , pain catastrophizing , chronic pain , physical therapy , psychiatry , anxiety , sociology , computer science , economics , social science , linguistics , philosophy , computer security , neuroscience , economic growth
The purpose of this study was to gather men's descriptions of their experience of nonmalignant pain of fibromyalgia (FM) type in order to gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. Fourteen men participated in the study. A qualitative method with narrative interviews and content analysis were used. The findings showed that the men's experience of pain fell within two major themes: ‘perceptions of diversified bodily pain’ and ‘perceptions of fluctuating pain’. The pain had progressed from being local to being widespread. Characteristic was that the men described both pain that worried them and pain that did not worry them and also that the pain passed through both calm and difficult phases. This study highlights the importance of acknowledgement that men had specific experiences and used metaphorical expressions to make the pain visible. The clinical indication in this study is that health care staff need to listen intently to each man's narrative and learn to interpret the descriptions of their experience of long‐term pain that involve a great variety of both bodily and emotional symptoms. These findings are a crucial prerequisite for the health care staff's possibility to offer support and relief to men with pain of FM type.