Low back pain is described as a very common condition that tends to affect about 70% of the population at some point in time with varying degrees of symptom severity. Although definitions vary, sciatic pain is generally defined as back-related pain radiating to the leg (normally below the knee and into the foot and toes) and is one of the commonest variations of low back pain. Patients with sciatica typically experience a more persistent and severe type of pain, a less favorable outcome, consume more healthcare resources and have more prolonged disability and absence from work than those with low back pain alone. Managing Sciatica and Radiculopathies in Primary Care Practice provides a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the subject and key information for primary care practitioners about low back pain in patients, including definitions and causes, current management approaches, diagnostic and treatment algorithms, as well as clinical practice guidelines.

Handbook of Pain and Palliative Care: Biobehavioral Approaches for the Life Course Rhonda J. Moore, editor

This book takes both a biobehavioral and a lifespan approach to understanding long-term and chronic pain, and intervening to optimize patients functioning. Rich in clinical diversity, chapters explore emerging areas of interest (computer-based interventions, fibromyalgia, stress), ongoing concerns (cancer pain, low back pain), and special populations (pediatric, elderly, military). This coverage provides readers with a knowledge base in assessment, treatment, and management that is up to date, practice strengthening, and forward looking. Subject areas featured in the Handbook include:

Patient-practitioner communication

Assessment tools and strategies

Common pain conditions across the lifespan

Biobehavioral mechanisms of chronic pain

Pharmaceutical, neurological, and rehabilitative interventions

Psychosocial, complementary/alternative, narrative, and spiritual approaches

Ethical issue and future directions

With the rise of integrative perspective and the emphasis on overall quality of life rather than discrete symptoms, pain management is gaining importance across medical disciplines. "Handbook of Pain and Palliative Care" stands out as a one-stop reference for a range of professionals, including health practitioners specializing in pain management or palliative care, clinical and health psychologists, public health professionals, and clinicians and administrators in long-term care and hospice.

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Acupuncture for Pain Management is intended as the premier resource for learning the fundamentals of the art of medical acupuncture. Edited by top pain medicine specialists at Harvard and UCLA, and based on their popular annual workshop at the American Society for Anesthesiologists, the book is the perfect synthesis of Western and Chinese medicine. Anesthesiologists, pain medicine specialists, primary care physicians, osteopaths, neurologists, psychiatrists, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists, and other health professionals looking to add acupuncture to their repertoire will benefit from the concise and practical approach of the book. Features: Each individual meridian discussed in detail Acupuncture for 25 clinical conditions, including headache, menstrual pain, low back pain, insomnia, and more Aimed at acupuncturists as well as practitioners who want to add acupuncture to their clinical armamentarium

Basic science and clinical pain research is particularly challenging for several reasons. First, pain is a subjective experience in response to nociception that follows actual or potential tissue damage. Since the ability to respond to this warning signal is essential for our survival, the nociceptive system that produces and transmits nociceptive signals is remarkably redundant and involves diffuse regions of the central nervous system. Second, unlike other sensory modalities, pain is a multi-dimensional experience including at least cognitive, affective, and sensory-discriminative components. Third, pain experiences can be influenced by psychological, socioeconomic, cultural, and genetic predispositions, making it exceedingly complicated to study pain and pain modulation. The topics covered in this volume are carefully selected and directly related to the daily practice of pain medicine. These topics include 1) central mechanisms of pain and pain modulation (Dickenson, Donovan-Rodriguez, Mattews) and clinical use of ion channel blockers (Chen); 2) spinal glutamatergic mechanisms (Guo, Dubner, Ren) and issues related to glutamate receptor antagonists in pain management (Mao); 3) basic science of opioid analgesics (Gintzler, Chakrabarti) and clinical opioid use (Smith, McCleane); 4) inflammatory cytokines (Samad) and clinical use of anti-inflammatory drugs (Fink, Brenner); 5) role of the sympathetic nervous system in pain mechanisms and its relation to clinical pain management (Sharma, Raja); 6) preclinical studies on tricyclic antidepressants (Gerner, Wang) and clinical use of antidepressants in pain management (Greenberg); 7) developing pain pathways and analgesic mechanisms during the developmental stage (Fitzgerald) and challenges of pediatric pain management (Lebel); 8) basic science mechanisms of serotonin agonists and their use in the clinical management of migraine headache (Biondi); 9) clinical research on gender differences in clinical pain and their implications for clinical pain management (Holdcroft); 10) current modalities of clinical cancer pain management (Popescu, Hord); and 11) preclinical and clinical information on alternative medicine (Chen).

Basic science and clinical pain research is particularly challenging for several reasons. First, pain is a subjective experience in response to nociception that follows actual or potential tissue damage. Since the ability to respond to this warning signal is essential for our survival, the nociceptive system that produces and transmits nociceptive signals is remarkably redundant and involves diffuse regions of the central nervous system. Second, unlike other sensory modalities, pain is a multi-dimensional experience including at least cognitive, affective, and sensory-discriminative components. Third, pain experiences can be influenced by psychological, socioeconomic, cultural, and genetic predispositions, making it exceedingly complicated to study pain and pain modulation. In this first volume, the current status and new trends of pain research are selectively discussed in order to take a critical and constructive look at the achievements of basic science research that have made significant differences in clinical pain management as well as the gaps between basic science research and clinical pain management.

Methadone and buprenorphine are the only two opioids that are indicated for the management of both pain and opioid-related drug addiction. Both present unique challenges to the general practitioner and pain specialist, requiring a separate analysis from the rest of the drugs in the same family. Handbook of Methadone Prescribing and Buprenorphine Therapy is an invaluable guide to the safe use of these opioids. Authored by clinical and academic leaders from a variety of settings and backgrounds, this book includes chapters on pharmacology, adverse effects, safe rotation from other opioids, cardiac toxicity, prescribing, pharmacokinetics, equianalgesic dose and replacement therapy. This comprehensive text provides clinicians, researchers, policy-makers and academicians a resource for all the relevant points in methadone prescribing and buprenorphine therapy.

Anesthesiology and Pain Management contains the edited presentations of the 39th Annual Postgraduate Course in Anesthesiology, February 1994. The chapters reflect new data concepts within the general framework of `pain research and basic science', and `clinical topics in pain management'. The purpose of the textbook is to serve as a vehicle to bring many of the latest concepts in anesthesiology to those who did not attend the conference, within a short time of the formal presentation. Each chapter is a brief but sharply focused glimpse of the current interests in anesthesia. This volume, as well as past and future volumes, reflects the rapid and continuing evolution of anesthesiology in the late twentieth century.

This volume is a result of an International Symposium on pain and neuroimmune interactions, held in Beirut, Lebanon, in May of 1999. The results of research on the neural mechanisms that relate tissue damage to pain show that the sensation of pain and suffering can be considered as part of mechanisms that involve not only sizeable areas in the brain but also simultaneous activations of the immune and the endocrine systems. Pain involves the sharing of molecular mechanisms between the nervous, immune and endocrine systems that can interact at peripheral and, ultimately, central levels. Chronic pain can then be viewed as a corollary of the imbalance in the cross-talk between these systems, which could lead to new treatment strategies. The aim of this volume is not to deal with acute pain that serves as an alarm signal, but to attempt to explain the molecular mechanisms of chronic pain considered as a multifactorial syndrome or disease.

Over 100,000 people have died from provider opioid prescriptions in the last 10 years. The rate is increasing and probably will be 250,000 in another 10 years. We need to separate truth from chronic long- term pain and change the definition of pain so we can reduce the supposed indications for opioid prescriptions.

Several new developments in the field of neuroimmunology with focus on the brain-to-immune system communication have been the incentive for this PIR volume. It covers topics such as brain-immune interactions, the impact of stress on the immune response, pain and immunosuppression, the modulation of inflammation and pain by the sympathetic nervous system, consequences of nerve injury for the immune system, neuronal mechanisms of immune cell recruitment, and the modulation of the immune response by corticotropin-releasing hormone or adenosine. The authors are a unique group of scientists who are all interested in brain-to-immune interactions; however, each from a different perspective. The volume will serve both neurobiologists and immunologists to understand the influence of the central nervous system on peripheral inflammation. Many aspects of this book will also be stimulating for researchers in the pain field.

The second edition of the Handbook of Pain Relief in Older Adults: An Evidence-Based Approach expands on the first edition by providing a number of timely new features. Most important of these are the revised recommendations from the American Geriatrics Society on prescribing that reflect the many new agents available since the last guidelines were released in 2001. Additionally, concepts such as synergy in prescribing for older adults have been better delineated in this edition. The most salient features of the original edition have been retained and updated, including the full range of approaches for pain assessment and prevention, interventional strategies, guidance on pharmacotherapy and nonpharmacologic pain relief strategies for seniors, preventive analgesia, the role of rehabilitation in sound pain treatment, legal and public policy issues in pain care for seniors, pain management in long-term care, and even the issue of spirituality as an adjunct to pain management. The second edition also includes a new chapter on resources, which includes organizations, internet websites, and guidance on acquiring additional consultation for pain intervention. Of particular interest is an updated discussion of the effect that electronic medical records and internet-based personal health records will have on pain relief in older adults and a new chapter that serves as a resource guide for patients and caregivers trying to navigate the waters of pain relief assistance. This issue has not been addressed substantively in the pain management literature and the ramifications for older adults are particularly poignant. Comprehensive and practical, the Handbook of Pain Relief in Older Adults: An Evidence-Based Approach (Second Edition) is a comprehensive resource with targeted, practical information that will be of vital importance for all clinicians who provide care for seniors.

COX-2 inhibitors are important drugs with analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. The discovery of COX-2, the evolution of drug development in this field and the implications of these developments in patient therapy are topics of this volume. This book presents both pre-clinical and clinical information and is important for clinicians interested in the latest information about this class of drugs, for researchers and for students in the field.

This book would combine chapters written by the most qualified authors around the world whose research encompasses the effect of morphine or other opioids on tumor growth and metastasis. This includes clinicians involved in trials determining which type of post surgical pain management can minimize the risk of recurrence or metastasis, researchers working on animal models and studying the effect of morphine on tumors, and most importantly the mechanism for this effect, and lastly cell biologists. There is currently a lot of research going on trying to reconcile the pro- and anti-cancer aspects of opioids actions.

Based upon the pioneering work of John E. Sarno, MD, Pathways to Pain Relief offers the stories of seventeen patients who recovered from back pain, sciatica, and other pain disorders which were emotional in origin.... These stories are shared to help people searching for relief from pain and those who support them..... Written by two therapists who worked with Dr. Sarno for over 30 years, and including input from their patients, Pathways to Pain Relief offers ideas and inspiration to explore the emotional circumstances related to the development of pain.... For those who have read Dr. Sarno's work, about 25% find that psychotherapy is essential for success. Pathways to Pain Relief provides greater depth about the emotional and therapeutic aspects of recovery through psychotherapy. These innovative concepts have already produced gratifying results for thousands of patients suffering from psychophysiologic pain disorders.

"Master Your Pain" is a comprehensive workbook for the person with chronic pain. It teaches powerful techniques rooted in brain/body science to help reduce pain and change what it is like to live with chronic pain. Written from personal and professional expertise with chronic pain, "Master Your Pain" compassionately empowers the reader with knowledge about pain and introduces neurobiological concepts, translating these into practical, easy-to-use techniques that address the destructive impact of persistent pain. The approaches used in this workbook are validating, non-judgmental, and can be life changing. It is not a "one size fits all" method, instead "Master Your Pain" aims to help individualize pain mastery, encouraging skepticism and systematic discovery of the utility of each skill for each person suffering with chronic pain.

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING:
""Master Your Pain" insightfully creates a bridge between psychology and biology. It goes beyond what any other comparable pain book currently offers. She brilliantly delivers new tools to chronic pain patients."
- JP Garofalo, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, Washington State University

""Master Your Pain" provides straight-forward approaches to learning to manage, cope with, and even master chronic pain. She provides a broad spectrum of easy-to-implement pain management tools; from breath-work, visualization and relaxation, to understanding how to manage daily and social life, including nutrition and interactions with your medical practitioners. At the root of all Dr. Fancher's recommendations is an understanding of the latest research on chronic pain and what has been proven to work. She is able to educate the reader throughout the book so that the person experiencing persistent pain can gain an accurate understanding of what is physiologically happening to the brain and nervous system and how this contributes to and even exacerbates the pain experience."
- Allison Suran, PT, GCFP, Founder Healing Bridge Physical Therapy

"Dr. Fancher, as someone who deals personally with chronic pain and as a pain psychologist, speaks with an understanding no other expert can match. I highly recommend "Master Your Pain" to all my patients and for anyone with chronic pain."
- Ginevra Liptan, MD, Medical Director, The Frida Center for Fibromyalgia

"The book gives great insight into the variety of techniques that can make a difference, shows how personal responsibility and work is essential and then gives clear guidance about how to do the work in a clear and effective manner. I believe this book will become an essential tool for any effective pain management programs as well as being an essential resource for any individual wanting to determine how to not let chronic pain control or limit their lives."
- Robert Djergaian, MD, Medical Director, Banner Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Institute

"My role as a pain management specialist became infinitely more fulfilling and effective when I met my colleague and friend, Dr Jill Fancher, to whom I hope all my patients have the benefit of learning from. I am so excited to have her workbook Master Your Pain as a resource my patients can read, use, experience and learn from as they move through their personal journey we call 'chronic pain'." - Sandra Hadenfeld, ARNP, Pain Management Specialist, Peace Health Southwest Interventional Pain Clinic

Numerous improvements in our understanding of the mechanisms that underlie neuropathic pain states have come from the development of animal models, most of which involve partial peripheral nerve injury. The animal models have shown that nerve injury initiates a cascade of events resulting in altered neurochemistry and molecular biology of the peripheral neurons, the dorsal root ganglion cell, and changes in neurotransmitter and receptor expression in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Moreover, nerve injury produces anatomical changes with functional consequences.
This volume summarises the current understanding of the pathophysiological processes in the peripheral and central nervous system that contribute to the neuropathic pain. It provides a timely review of neuropathic pain mechanisms, written by experts in the field.

Indispensable for both the trainee and experienced professional, this is the only truly comprehensive account of the major role of the neurosurgeon in the diagnosis and treatment of chronic pain. The elite panel of contributors were chosen due to their expertise and international reputations. The result of their achievement covers the whole spectrum from criteria for patient selection and the details of operative techniques, to the risks, complications, and expected outcomes for a wide variety of anatomic, ablative, and augmentative neurosurgical procedures in treating chronic, intractable pain. The neurosurgeon will find here chapters on the latest neuroaugmentative advances utilizing electrical stimulation and implantable drug infusion systems as well as a useful section providing algorithms and guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of specific pain syndromes. Over 100 photographs and exquisite line drawings - many specifically commissioned for this book - enhance the text. Invaluable for acquiring the critical judgement and clinical skills necessary to apply the procedures involved.

Pain Management and Anesthesiology contains the presentations made at the 43rd Annual Postgraduate Course in Anesthesiology sponsored by the University of Utah and held at Snowbird, Utah, USA, February 20-24, 1998. This volume addresses recent advances in the understanding of the basic science and clinical management of pain. The textbook includes sections on recent advances in the understanding of pain signal processing, as well as reviews of the clinical management of acute, chronic, cancer-related, and pediatric pain. In addition, this text includes a discussion of the behavioral assessment and treatment of the pain patient. This textbook is the sixteenth in a continuing series documenting the proceedings of the postgraduate course.

Introduction to Pain and its relation to Nervous System Disorders provides an accessible overview of the latest developments in the science underpinning pain research, including, but not limited to, the physiological, pathological and psychological aspects. This unique book fills a gap in current literature by focussing on the intricate relationship between pain and human nervous system disorders such as Autism, Alzheimer Disease, Parkinson s Disease, Depression and Multiple Sclerosis. This fully illustrated, colour handbook will help non-experts, including advanced undergraduate and new postgraduate students, become familiar with the current, wide-ranging areas of research that cover every aspect of the field from chronic and inflammatory pain to neuropathic pain and biopsychosocial models of pain, functional imaging and genetics. Contributions from leading experts in neuroscience and psychiatry provide both factual information and critical points of view on their approach and the theoretical framework behind their choices. An appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of brain imaging technology applied to pain research in humans provides the tools required to understand current cutting edge literature on the topic. Chapters covering placebo effects in analgesia and the psychology of pain give a thorough overview of cognitive, psychological and social influences on pain perception. Sections exploring pain in the lifecycle and in relation to nervous system disorders take particular relevance from a clinical point of view. Furthermore, an intellectually stimulating chapter analysing the co-morbidity of pain and depression provides a philosophical angle rarely presented in related handbooks. The references to external research databases and relevant websites aim to prompt readers to become critical and independent thinkers, and motivate them to carry out further reading on these topics. Introduction to Pain and its relation to Nervous System Disorders is essential reading for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students in neuroscience, medical and biomedical sciences, as well as for clinical and medical healthcare professionals involved in pain management.

Bladder Pain Syndrome: A Guide for Clinicians provides a comprehensive update in the pathophysiology, epidemiology, terminology, evaluation and treatment of patients with pelvic pain perceived to be related to the urinary bladder. The volume covers the tremendous evolution during the last decade in our understanding of pain syndromes and their diagnosis and treatment. It is now clear that Bladder Pain Syndrome belongs to the family of pain syndromes, and therefore treatment has moved from the treatment of the bladder to the treatment of a pain syndrome with the special problems this presents when the pain syndrome involves urinary symptoms. Interstitial Cystitis was poorly defined and the interpretation and patient selection differed enormously around the world in many ways, making exchange of information unreliable and confusing. Bladder Pain Syndrome is clearly defined and the result is a much better patient selection. This volume provides state of the art background for making a correct evaluation and diagnosis of patients with pelvic pain and voiding problems resulting in a more focused treatment to the benefit of the patients. The volume also covers the close relationship between different pain syndromes including those outside the pelvis. Bladder Pain Syndrome: A Guide for Clinicians will be of great utility to urologists, gynecologists and all health professionals dealing with patients with pelvic pain.

DR. GARY SAFF is a native of South Florida where he currently practices as an Interventional Pain Management Specialist. Ivy League trained, he did his pain management fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. More recently he was the Director of Pain Management services at Cleveland Clinic-Weston and formerly a Director at Columbia University's St. Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital. He holds certificates in the American Board of Anesthesiology, the American Society of Pain Management, the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners, and he is licensed in Acupuncture. Dr. Saff has spent ti me both in the Amazon jungle learning medicine from shamans as well as learning eastern medicine acupuncture techniques. In 2009 he published his first book "What A Pain" A Doctor's Guide to Understanding and Treating Pain. He has also authored another children's book, "Baby Benny's Boo-Boo Book" published in 2011. He has published many articles and has given lectures both nationally and internationally. Dr. Saff is currently in private practice and can be contacted at Integrated Pain Solutions of South Florida at (954) 772-7552 or via the web at www.whatapain.com.

Our present understanding of the psychosocial aspects of pain in children is reviewed in this monograph by leading scientists and practitioners. The contributions are integrated within a developmental perspective to provide an introduction to the conceptual and methodological tools necessary for comprehension of new work in the field. This volume offers a survey of major new developments in the area of pediatric pain and points out the directions in which clinical work and conceptualization are moving. Children in Pain argues consistently and persuasively that both models of pain assessment, intervention techniques, and research designs must demonstrate a sophisticated appreciation for developmental considerations. Topics explored include assessment of pediatric pain; coping and adaptation in children's pain; developmental issues among infants and toddlers and among preschool and school-age children, as well as among adolescents; recurrent abdominal pain; burn injury and treatment; chronic and recurrent pain in hemophilia, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and sickle cell disease; developmental aspects of the biobehavioral treatment of migraine in childhood; and helping children cope with painful medical procedures.

The National Institutes of Health Publication 10-6287, Pain Control: Support for People With Cancer, discusses pain control medicines and other methods to help manage pain, and addresses the physical and emotional effects of pain. Having cancer doesn't mean that you will have pain. But if you do, you can manage most of your pain with medicine and other treatments. This book discusses how to work with your health care team and others to find the best way to control your pain.