Babies and young children can’t verbally express their pain in the way older children or adults can. They rely on crying, facial expressions, and body movements, which can be difficult to interpret. Since crying is common in infants for many reasons (hunger, discomfort, or tiredness), it can be easy for caregivers and healthcare providers to overlook pain as a cause.
Not all healthcare providers receive adequate training in pediatric pain management, leading to discomfort or uncertainty in identifying and treating pain in children. Physiotherapist, Occupational therapists, Speech therapists and audiologists are more trained and exposed to the different kinds of pain scales to use in order to assess pain in paediactrics. Charne Cox in the discussion forum mentioned that ”
Allieds such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists are well trained at undergrad level on non-pharmacological pain management techniques but I feel that other healthcare workers forget the allieds and are so quick to rather just jump to pharmacological management”
Charne Cox points out that it is crucial to recognize pain before it can be effectively managed. While physiotherapists and occupational therapists receive comprehensive training in non-pharmacological approaches, their skills are sometimes overlooked. This can lead to an over-reliance on medication as a first option for pain relief, instead of using complementary techniques like physical therapy, positioning, or relaxation methods. By involving allied health professionals more in the pain management process, a more holistic approach can be applied, potentially reducing the need for medications, which may have side effects, especially in children.
