A Nation in Pain: Healing our Biggest Health Problem Author: Judy Foreman | Language: English | ISBN:
B00HO6WTCA | Format: PDF
A Nation in Pain: Healing our Biggest Health Problem Description
Out of 238 million American adults, 100 million live in chronic pain. And yet the press has paid more attention to the abuses of pain medications than the astoundingly widespread condition they are intended to treat. Ethically, the failure to manage pain better is tantamount to torture. When chronic pain is inadequately treated, it undermines the body and mind. Indeed, the risk of suicide for people in chronic pain is twice that of other people. Far more than just a symptom, writes author Judy Foreman, chronic pain can be a disease in its own right -- the biggest health problem facing America today.
In A Nation in Pain, Foreman offers a sweeping, deeply researched account of the chronic pain crisis, from neurobiology to public policy, and presents to practical solutions that are within our grasp today. Drawing on both her personal experience with chronic pain and her background as an award-winning health journalist, she guides us through recent scientific discoveries, including genetic susceptibility to pain; gender disparities in pain conditions and treatments, perhaps linked to estrogen; the problem of undertreated pain in children; the emerging role of the immune system in pain; advances in traditional treatments such as surgery and drugs; and fair-minded assessments of the effectiveness of alternative remedies, including marijuana, acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic care. For many people, the real magic bullet, Foreman writes, is exercise. Though many patients fear it will increase their discomfort, studies show it consistently produces improvement, often dramatic. She also explores the destructive "opioid wars," which have led to a misguided demonization of prescription painkillers.
Foreman presents a far-reaching but sensible plan of action, ranging from enhancing pain education in medical schools to reforms of federal policies across the board. For doctors, scientists, policy makers, and especially patients, A Nation in Pain is essential reading.
- File Size: 1143 KB
- Print Length: 464 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0199837201
- Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (January 2, 2014)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00HO6WTCA
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
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- Lending: Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #49,209 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Medical eBooks > Pharmacology > Pain Medicine - #2
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in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diseases & Physical Ailments > Chronic Pain
Ms Foreman, a pain sufferer, does an excellent job of detailing the problems of how pain is treated in America. She provides a biopsychosocial explanation of what pain is including the genetic, neurological, hormonal,immunological and psychological aspects of pain. She explains the experimental evidence for several treatments for pain including opioids, marijuana, anti-depressants, injection therapies,diets, supplements, exercise, electrotherapies, hypnosis, massage, acupuncture, reiki, Alexander technique,Rubenfeld synergy, biofeedback, exercise and pemf. This is where this book excels -and few books do as thorough and unbiased a review of pain treatments as this one. She discusses the politics of pain care and the lack of education and research on pain. She explains in detail the undertreatment and mistreatment of women and children in pain and the complexities of treating them. She includes some of the most current research and some new biomedical targets for pain.This would make an excellent text for graduate course in medical, psychology, physical therapy, chiropractic school.
This book falls very short, in my opinion, on offering a vision to improve pain care for she just calls for more of the same research that has failed pain sufferers in the past. As Helen Keller wrote: To see without a vision, is a terrible thing. In addition, she calls for the same people who have failed people in pain to somehow, take it seriously(Government and doctors) and she is slanted toward finding more biomedical treatments and education for pain-despite her showing evidence of inadequate effectiveness of biomedical treatments and biomedical research-and despite nowing doctors aren't interested in obtaining education in pain care.
The reason I am buying is that both my wife and I have pain issues. The following is from a very reliable web site I subscribe to that gave this review. Another reason I am buying the book. After reading I will adjust the stars rating based on my feelings about the book.
The following review was written by SB. Leavitt, MA, PhD at Pain Topics News & Research.
Of nearly 240 million adults in the United States, more than 4 in 10, or about 100 million, live with chronic pain of some sort. Yet, the professional and popular news media focus more on abuses of pain medications than the dreaded conditions the drugs are intended to treat. Meanwhile, the suffering of untreated or mistreated patients with pain is largely overlooked.
In her new book — A Nation in Pain: Healing Our Biggest Health Problem — author Judy Foreman provides a deeply researched account of today’s chronic pain crisis and reasons behind it, and she discusses some solutions that could be within reach. Far more than just a symptom, Foreman explains, chronic pain can be a disease in its own right, and the failure to manage pain better in the U.S. and other countries worldwide may be tantamount to torture.
A great many (perhaps, too many) books have been written on the subject of pain; all are well-intentioned and often they are self-published. While some of the books are of interest, most appear to be riddled with personal opinion, biased perspectives, and/or misinformation rather than being guided by facts and solid evidence.
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