Approximately one-half of all adults with HIV experience chronic pain. Needed are nonpharmacological approaches to improve pain management in this population.
Scientists from Temple University, Brown University and Harvard Medical School conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with thirteen adults with HIV and 7 HIV care providers regarding their perceptions of Tai Chi for chronic pain management. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, double-coded, and analyzed using applied thematic analysis.
What HIV Patients Think of Tai Chi
The results show thatHIV patients had limited prior exposure to Tai Chi and had not previously considered this practice for pain management.
However, after viewing a brief video demonstration of Tai Chi, patients recognized potential benefits, including relaxation, stress reduction, and pain lessening. Patients were surprised by the gentle nature of Tai Chi and expressed enthusiasm to learn more about Tai Chi.
For example, one white female patient in her 60s said:
“I think that you would feel less pain because it would relax your body. If your mind is relaxing, your body would be relaxed… It might just help relax you, I think, and make you feel calmer.”
In another example, a Hispanic male patient in his 60s said:
“I think that would help. I mean it’s relaxing and if you can stretch with that, I think it’s mostly mental, probably. The mind is a powerful thing and definitely can block out pain. Why not? I think it’s a good idea. I definitely would try it…”
A white female patient in her 50s said:
“I want to join. I definitely would like to do that. I think a lot of people would like to try that.”
A black/Native American male patient in his 60s said:
“When is it going to start? You have my number, so as soon as it comes up, call me, because I’m very interested.”
What HIV Healthcare Providers Think of Tai Chi
HIV healthcare providers similarly had limited knowledge of Tai Chi for pain management. HIV care providers shared several helpful insights on the potential implementation of Tai Chi with this population.
One Infectious Disease Physician said:
“I’m sure those kinds of approaches would help [adults with HIV] for all kinds of things, not just pain.”
Another said:
“Things that people can do on their own to improve their quality of life I think are particularly meaningful to patients… If they find an intervention that works that they can do at home, I think that’s a huge bonus to them.”
Conclusions
Adults with HIV and healthcare providers were optimistic that Tai Chi would reduce stress and ease chronic pain. These data suggest that Tai Chi would be of interest to HIV patients and care providers as a novel pain management strategy.
