Rehabilitation and pain treatment in palliative care

Palliative care has been synonymous with terminal cancer care but now-adays palliative care presents an integrated approach of help to all patients who suffer incurable diseases including the help to their families, and encloses the period from diagnosing, treatment and dying to supportive care to family after patient's death. Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families who face the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual. Palliative care pattients report uncontrolled pain, isolation and crumbling autonomy as the most disturbing. From this point of view, pain treatment and appropriate rehabilitation, as part of integrated program of palliative care, have very high influence on patient's quality of life. In the article, we describe the site, principles and difficulties of pain treatment and rehabilitation in palliative care patients.