Mayo Clinic on Chronic Pain: S

You'd think the Mayo Clinic would be hardline Western medicine. But this book rocks. There are alternative treatments and everything.

This is THE chronic pain management book according to my doctor, and I'm a believer. I lead a more active and productive life because of his work. What you may not "like" about this book is the emphasis on the patient's responsibility. Once a proper diagnosis is reached, the PATIENT must do things to get better. * Stopping what is was that caused the pain to become chronic, * Coping with overweight, * Dealing with uncontrolled anger, depression. * Using the mind to relax. * Relieving stress (and the destructive hormones it releases) to loosen up the painful area. * Getting more sleep. Setting attainable goals. * Assessing one's personal spiritual life (not religious, but spiritual -- there's a huge difference). Among themselves, the Mayo Clinic pain specialitsts have different philosophies and treatments. All are covered evenly in this book.

As stated in the credits on the first page, this book provides "reliable, practical information on managing chronic pain." What it doesn't say is just how invaluable this book can be for all of us who have suffered. Until I read this book, I had not realized that I had been living with pain since before entering grade school - and this book gave me the insight and tools to face it and deal with it constructively. I bought it at the recommendation of one of my physical therapists to help with my recently diagnosed fibromyalgia, but found a wealth of information that has helped me recognize and acknowledge emotional and behavioral stages of pain that I have been cycling through, unrecognized, for decades. I had just written off my symptoms as part of being bipolar, as being something I just had to put up with. Through physical therapy and reading this book, I now see how I have become physically, emotionally, and behaviorally misaligned and crippled as the direct result of pain. This book, an easy read, almost every page post-it tagged, has drawn the interest of everyone I've shown it to or discussed it with. It explains chronic pain - how to understand it, recognize it, treat it, and manage it. It has chapters that include evaluations of standard and alternative therapies and their documented effectiveness or lack of, how to set goals, find the right doctor for your situation, deal with your emotions and behaviors, manage stress, get healthy through diet and exercise, how your pain affects those close to you, how to organize your day, and includes a personal planner, great additional resources, and more. REALLY packed with the latest tested research and developments in the area of chronic pain from one of the great medical clinics. I can't rate this book highly enough. If you or someone you know is suffering in any way shape or form from any kind of chronic pain, this book is a lifesaver. Buy it, read it, pass it around, share it with your doctor.