Final answer:
The assertion that scheduled pain meds help control pain in older adults is true. Scheduled administration of pain relievers like opioids can effectively manage chronic pain and prevent severe pain episodes.
Step-by-step explanation:
Scheduled pain medication can indeed be an effective strategy for controlling pain in older adults, which makes the answer A) True. This is because pain management with medications like opioids and non-opioid pain relievers, when administered on a schedule, maintains a consistent level of medication in the body, preventing the reoccurrence of pain that might happen if the medication is only used when pain becomes severe. Chronic pain, which often persists even after the initial injury has healed, can be linked to sterile inflammation involving components of the immune system like macrophages. The continuous presence of chemical messengers associated with this immune response can lead to or sustain chronic pain. Appropriate use of scheduled pain medication can help manage this type of pain before it becomes intolerable.