Pain of contracture in clients with Dementia

Cindy Johnston · Aug 29, 1998

Not specifically...I am intested in any input, tho, cuz we have a number of clients with alot of rigidity related to their organic processes....It seems in nursing school they mentioned skeletal muscle relaxants, I think meds like Baclofen can be given, but I don't see it in practice where I work

pietem · Aug 30, 1998

Should get your OT dept involved. They have great suggestions such as splinting, regular use of pain relievers, heat treatments to help relax muscles etc.

Sandra Egger · Sep 1, 1998

Weren't we taught in nursing school that to prevent contractures, we were to diligently administer physical therapy? Once the contractures are in place, there is actually nothing we can do. Therefore, the only logical course of therapy is to prevent them, by simple exercise of the affected parts. As far as I know, all CNA's, LPN's, and RN's are taught this in school. Why isn't being implemented?

Meg · Sep 2, 1998

I too was taught in nursing school to do rom excercises especially during bath time, where there is a good bit of hands on activity. Unfortunately, lack of staff means more duties for those that are already responsible for so much.

Cindy Johnston · Sep 17, 1998

another thought (or 2) on this subject...in a perfect world there would be no contractures and yes rom should be done on each client and at our facility we have one aide who is designated to do that and a few other duties, but focusing on rom...also I learned this week from our pharmacist that a side effect from

Reglan can often be muscle stiffness in the elderly (which may precipitate contractures). What do you guys think ?