Medications that heal, and kill -- The opioid epidemic that is killing us -- On addiction management -- A mystery and a prize -- Complex nature of chronic pain -- Culture of pain -- The stigma of pain -- Chronic pain and depression -- Obesity and chronic pain -- Finding the right specialist -- Searching for the cause of pain -- Fibromyalgia gets real -- Other pain syndromes -- Getting moving : exercise and physical therapy -- Interventional pain management -- Alternative management options -- Marijuana : the mystery drug -- Pain in the court room -- Co-existing with pain -- Toward a painless future.
Summary:
As a nation, we are facing an unprecedented opioid crisis that is killing more than 65,000 people a year. It is destroying our families and decimating our neighborhoods. And it is costing us billions. As more and more people are dealing with chronic pain, and as the opioid crisis reaches epic proportions, alternative approaches to understanding pain and its management are necessary. Here, Dr. Akhtar Purvez, a seasoned researcher, pain specialist, and pain advocate, offers basic information about pain and pain conditions and considers how we approach pain from cultural, biological, and medical perspectives. He discusses the latest minimally invasive, interventional approaches like nerve blocks and ablation procedures, and neuromodulation techniques like peripheral nerve, spinal cord, and brain stimulation. The uses of marijuana and associated interventions is reviewed, and Purvez walks readers through the process of assessing pain, finding a doctor who can treat it, and methods for coping with pain through non-medical approaches like meditation. Anyone coping with pain or helping someone who is will find here a ready resource that offers hope and understanding.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.