The pain and suffering of a Mexican American woman with mobility impairment.

There is a dearth of literature examining how adversity shapes the experiences of pain and/or suffering in middle-aged Mexican American women. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand pain and suffering from a life course perspective as described by a Mexican American woman aging with early-onset mobility impairment. This Hispanic woman experienced episodes of abuse and rejection over the life course, which may have significantly influenced her pain and suffering experience in adulthood. This adds to the literature on how adversity influences later life pain experience and provides insight on why pharmacological treatment alone may not be as successful as a holistic intervention.