Pain medicine is a relatively new field of medicine. Although easing pain has been an imperative in medical practice from the beginning of medical care, we know very little about how to effectively treat pain. The last three decades has been close to an explosion of knowledge of the mechanisms, chemistry, and biology of pain but with a slow uptake in translating that knowledge to medical care. There have been some important advances in how to care for pain but the public and most medical practitioners are still unaware. This state of affairs makes it very clear why this important anthology needs to be read. One of the important things we have recently learned about pain is that it is complex. There are many different kinds of pain and there are many different responses to the types of treatments. PainTamers collects the thoughts and perspectives of several people living with pain and several medical experts who practice different types of pain medicine. Pain is complex, as complex as the subject matter. Taken together, the patient stories and the perspectives of the multiple medical practitioners, PainTamers creates a complex weave that mirrors the challenge of understanding pain. You hear from doctors, scientists, psychologists, rehabilitation specialists, massage therapists, acupuncturists, and many patients, and collectively, you begin to appreciate the challenges of living with pain and of helping people manage pain. - Will Rowe, CEO, American Pain Society Helen M. Dearman lives with her husband near Houston, Texas. She has been a chronic pain sufferer since surviving a snow skiing incident in 1975. It wasn't until 1985 that she learned she had fractured her back in three places. "I am not a chronic pain or a chronic pain patient; rather I am a person who has pain. I like to think I define the pain instead of it defining me." http: //SBPRA.com/HelenMDearman