This work is based on experiences from a group treatment for women with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The authors explored the nature and consequences of the reported benefits from being met with recognition in the groups, focusing the potential usefulness in everyday life. In-depth interviews of six participants of various age and backgrounds were conducted. The women’s answers reflected how recognition had enhanced strength, confidence, and awareness expressed as increased bodily, emotional, and social competence. This competence provided tools to handle their pain and illness. Achieving the sense of a better life with chronic pain represents an important recovery process. Because of the normative and gendered way the term “coping(ability)” has been used, the authors introduce recovery competence as a more fruitful concept.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Album, D. (1989). Patients’ knowledge and patients’ work: Patient-patient interaction in general hospitals. Acta Sociologica—Journal of the Scandinavian Sociological Association, 32(3), 295-306.
2.
Album, D. (1991). Sykdommers og medisinske spesialiteters prestisje [The prestige of diseases and medical specialties, English summary]. Tidsskift for Den Norske Lægeforening, 111(17), 2127-2133.
3.
Anthony, W.A. (1993). Recovery from mental illness: The guiding vision of the mental health service system in the 1990s. Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal, 16(4), 11-23.
4.
Armitage, K.J., Schneiderman, L.J., & Bass, R.A. (1979). Response of physicians to medical complaints in men and women. Journal of the American Medical Association, 241(20), 2186-2187.
5.
Banyard, V.L., & Graham-Bermann, S.A. (1993). Can women cope? A gender analysis of theories of coping with stress. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 17(3), 303-318.
6.
Bennett, R.M., Burckhardt, C.S., Clark, S.R., O’Reilly, C.A., Weins, A.N., & Campbell, S.M. (1996). Group treatment of Fibromyalgia: A 6-month outpatient program. Journal of Rheumatology, 23(3), 521-528.
7.
Bertakis, K.D., Helms, J.L., Callahan, E.J., Azari, R., & Robbins, J.A. (1995). The influence of gender on physician practice style. Medical Care, 33(4), 407-416.
8.
Borchgrevink, T., & Holter, Ø.G. (1995). Introduction. In T. Borchgrevink & Ø.G. Holter (Eds.), Labour of love: Beyond the self-evidence of everyday life (pp. 1-15). Aldershot, UK: Avebury.
9.
Borges, S., & Waitzkin, H. (1995). Women’s narratives in primary care medical encounters. Women & Health, 23(1), 29-56.
10.
Burckhardt, C.S., Mannerkorpi, K., Hedenberg, L., & Bjelle, A. (1994). A randomized, controlled clinical trial of education and physical training for women with fibromyalgia. Journal of Rheumatology, 21(4), 714-720.
11.
Bury, M. (1997). Health and illness in a changing society. New York: Routledge.
12.
Code, L. (1991). What can she know? Feminist theory and the construction of knowledge. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
13.
Code, L. (1995). Rhetorical spaces—Essays on gendered locations. New London: Routledge.
14.
Colameco, S., Becker, L.A., & Simpson, M. (1983). Sex bias in the assessment of patient complaints. Journal of Family Practice, 16(6), 1117-1121.
15.
Deegan, P. (1996). Recovery as a journey of the heart. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 19(3), 91-97.
16.
Eccleston, C., Williams, A.C., & Rogers, W.S. (1997). Patients’ and professionals’ understandings of the causes of chronic pain: Blame, responsibility and identity protection. Social Science & Medicine, 45(5), 699-709.
17.
Frank, A.W. (1995). The wounded storyteller: Body, illness, and ethics. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
18.
Garro, L.C. (1992). Chronic illness and the construction of narratives. In M.J.D. Good, P.E. Brodwin, B.J. Good, & A. Kleinman (Eds.), Pain as human experience: An anthropological perspective (pp. 100-137). Berkeley: University of California Press.
19.
Gerhardt, U. (1989). Ideas about illness: An intellectual and political history of medical sociology. London: Macmillan.
20.
Gijsbers van Wijk, C.M.T., Kolk, A.M., Van den Bosch, W.J.H.M., & Van den Hoogen, H.J.M. (1992). Male and female morbidity in general practice: The nature of sex differences. Social Science & Medicine, 35(5), 665-678.
21.
Giorgi, A. (1985). Sketch of a psychological phenomenological method. In A. Giorgi (Ed.), Phenomenology and psychological research (pp. 8-22). Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.
22.
Hall, J.A., Irish, J.T., Roter, D.L., Ehrlich, C.M., & Miller, L.H. (1994). Gender in medical encounters: An analysis of physician and patient communication in a primary care setting. Health Psychology, 13(5), 384-392.
23.
Hamberg, K., Johansson, E.E., Lindgren, G., & Westman, G. (1997). The impact of marital relationship on the rehabilitation process in a group of women with long-term musculoskeletal disorders. Scandinavian Journal of Social Medicine, 25(1), 17-25.
24.
Harding, S. (1986). The science question in feminism. Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press.
25.
Haug, F. (1992). Beyond female masochism: Memory-work and politics. New York: Verso.
26.
Haugli, L., Steen E., Sandvik, L., & Lærum, E. (1997). Kan kroniske muskel- og skjelettsmerter reduseres ved læring? Noen resultater fra et pedagogisk modellforsøk [Can chronic musculoskeletal pain be reduced by learning? Some results from an educational model for rehabilitation, English summary]. Tidsskrift for den Norske Lægeforening, 117(19), 2772-2775.
27.
Jackson, J.E. (1992). “After a while no one believes you”: Real and unreal pain. In M.J.D. Good, P.E. Brodwin, B.J. Good, & A. Kleinman (Eds), Pain as human experience: An anthropological perspective (pp. 138-168). Berkeley: University of California Press.
28.
Johansson, C., Dahl, J., Jannert, M., Melin, L., & Andersson, G. (1998). Effects of a cognitive-behavioral pain-management program. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(10), 915-930.
29.
Johansson, E.E., Hamberg, K., Lindgren, G., & Westman, G. (1996). “I’ve been crying my way”—Qualitative analysis of a group of female patients’ consultation experiences. Family Practice, 13(6), 498-503.
30.
Johnson, M.M. (1989). Feminism and the theories of Talcott Parsons. In R.A. Wallace (Ed.), Feminism and sociological theory (pp. 101-118). London: Sage.
31.
Kugelmann, R. (1999). Complaining about chronic pain. Social Science & Medicine, 49(12), 1663-1676.
32.
Kvale, S. (1996). InterViews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. London: Sage.
33.
Lupton, D. (1994). Medicine as culture: Illness, disease and the body in Western society. London: Sage.
34.
Malterud, K. (1993). Shared understanding of the qualitative research process: Guidelines for the medical research. Family Practice, 10(2), 201-206.
35.
Malterud, K. (2000). Symptoms as a source of medical knowledge: Understanding medically unexplained disorders in women. Family Medicine, 32(9), 603-611.
36.
Malterud, K. (2001). Qualitative research: Standards, challenges, and guidelines. Lancet, 358, 483-488.
37.
Malterud, K. (in press). The art of living with pain—Recovery through acknowledgement. In K. Malterud & S. Hunskaar (Eds.), Patient-centred approaches to chronic myofascial pain in primary care. Oxford, UK: Radcliffe Medical Press.
38.
Malterud, K., & Hollnagel, H. (1999). Encouraging the strengths of women patients—A case study from general practice on empowering dialogues. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 27(4), 254-259.
39.
McCain, G.A., Bell, D.A., Mai, F.M., & Halliday, P.D. (1988). A controlled study of the effects of a supervised cardiovascular fitness training program on the manifestations of primary fibromyalgia. Arthritis and Rheumatism, 31(9), 1135-1141.
40.
Mengshoel, A.M., Forseth, K.Ø., Haugen, M., Walle-Hansen, R., & Førre, Ø. (1995). Multidisciplinary approach to fibromyalgia: A pilot study. Clinical Rheumatology, 14(2), 165-170.
41.
Natvig, B., Nessiöy, I., Bruusgaard, D., & Rutle, O. (1995). Musculoskeletal symptoms in a local community. European Journal of General Practice, 1, 25-28.
42.
Nicassio, P.M., Radojevic, V., Weisman, M.H., Schuman, C., Kim, J., Schoenfeld-Smith, K., & Krall, T. (1997). A comparison of behavioral and educational interventions for fibromyalgia. Journal of Rheumatology, 24, 2000-2007.
43.
Östlund, G., Cedersund, E., Alexanderson, K., & Hensing, G. (2001). “It was really nice to have someone”—Lay people with musculoskeletal disorders request supportive relationships in rehabilitation. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 29(4), 285-291.
44.
Parsons, T. (1951). The social system. London: Routledge Kegan Paul.
45.
Plummer, K. (1995). Telling sexual stories: Power, change, and social worlds. New York: Routledge.
46.
Reid, S., Whooley, D., Crayford, T., & Hotopf, M. (2001). Medically unexplained symptoms—GPs’ attitudes towards their cause and management. Family Practice, 18(5), 519-523.
47.
Roter, D., Lipkin, M., & Korsgaard, A. (1991). Sex differences in patients’ and physicians’ communication during primary care medical visits. Medical Care, 29(11), 1083-1093.
48.
Safran, D.G., Rogers, W.H., Tarlov, A.R., McHorney, C.A., & Ware, Jr., J.E. (1997). Gender differences in medical treatment: The case of physician-prescribed activity restrictions. Social Science & Medicine, 45(5), 711-722.
49.
Schei, B., & Bakketeig, L.S. (1989). Gynaecological impact of sexual and physical abuse by spouse: A study of a random sample of Norwegian women. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 96(12), 1379-1383.
50.
Sharpe, M., Mayou, R., Seagroatt, V., Surawy, C., Warwick, H., Bulstrode, C., et al. (1994). Why do doctors find some patients difficult to help? Quarterly Journal of Medicine, 87(3), 187-193.
51.
Smith, D.E. (1990). The conceptual practices of power—A feminist sociology of knowledge. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
52.
Söderberg, S., Lundman, B., & Norberg, A. (1999). Struggling for dignity: The meaning of women’s experiences of living with fibromyalgia. Qualitative Health Research, 9, 575-587.
53.
Speckens, A.E.M., Van Hemert, A.M., Bolk, J.H., Rooijmans, H.G.M., & Hengeveld, M.W. (1996). Unexplained physical symptoms: Outcome, utilization of medical care, and associated factors. Psychological Medicine, 26(4), 745-752.
54.
Steihaug, S., Ahlsen, B., & Malterud, K. (2001). From exercise and education to movement and interaction: Treatment groups in primary care for women with chronic muscular pain. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 19(4), 249-254.
55.
Steihaug, S., Ahlsen, B., & Malterud, K. (in press). “I am allowed to be myself”: Women with chronic muscular pain being recognized. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.
56.
Steihaug, S., Ahlsen, B., & Rutle, O. (1994). Behandling av kroniske muskel- og skjelettsmerter. Fysisk trening og samtalegruppe gjennomført i allmennpraksis. [Treatment of chronic musculoskeletal pain by physical exercise and through group discussions, English summary] Tidsskrift for den Norske Lægeforening, 114(3), 1065-1069.
57.
Verbrugge, L.M. (1980). Sex differences in complaints and diagnoses. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 3(4), 327-355.
58.
Waitzkin, H. (1979). Medicine, superstructure, and micropolitics. Social Science & Medicine, 13A, 601-609.
59.
Wendell, S. (1996). The rejected body: Feminist philosophical reflections on disability. New York: Routledge.
60.
Widerberg, K. (1996). Women’s experiences—text or relation? Looking at research practices from a sociological and feminist perspective. NORA [Nordic Journal of Women’s Studies], 4(2), 128-136.
61.
Widerberg, K. (1999). Alternative methods—alternative understandings: Exploring the social and the multiple “I,” through memory-work. Sosiologisk Tidsskrift, 7(2), 147-159.
62.
Wigers, S.H., Stiles, T.C., & Vogel, P.A. (1996). Effects of aerobic exercise versus stress management treatment in fibromyalgia: A 4.5-year prospective study. Scandinavian Journal of Rheumatology, 25, 77-86.
63.
World Medical Association. (2002). Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects (amended 2002). Helsinki, Finland: WMA. Retrieved December 10, 2002, from http://www.wma.net/e/policy/17-c_e.html (Original work published 1964)
