Question

Three days after surgery, a client continues to have moderate to severe incisional pain. Based on the gate-control theory, what action should the nurse take?

A. Advise the client to try to sleep following administration of pain medication.
B. Reposition the client and gently massage the client's back.
C. Administer pain medications in smaller doses but more frequently.
D. Decrease external stimuli in the room during painful episodes.

Answer 1

The nurse should reposition the client and gently massage the client's back to help modulate pain according to the gate-control theory, which suggests that such non-painful input can help reduce the perception of pain by interfering with pain signal transmission.

Step-by-step explanation:

Based on the gate-control theory of pain, when a client continues to have moderate to severe incisional pain three days after surgery, the nurse should consider actions that can help to modulate the pain. This theory suggests that non-painful input closes the "gates" to painful input, which prevents pain sensation from traveling to the central nervous system. Therefore, B. Repositioning the client and giving a gentle massage can serve as such non-painful input that may help to close the gates, reducing the perception of pain.

Repositioning can alleviate pressure on certain areas and improve comfort, while massage can stimulate tactile fibers, potentially lessening the pain signals. Advising the client to try to sleep and decreasing external stimuli may offer some benefit as well, but they do not directly engage with the gate-control theory as much as gentle physical intervention does. Administering pain medication is clearly important, but changing the pacing of delivery is a separate consideration from the theory's implications regarding sensory input.