Chronic Pain For Dummies

Stuart S. Kassan, MD, FACP: Dr. Kassan is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He is an internationally known expert in arthritis and painful conditions, such as lupus and Sjogren's syndrome. Dr. Kassan is a registered acupuncturist. In his current Denverbased rheumatology practice, he is active in both research and treatment of patients with conditions that are associated with significant pain. Dr. Kassan has received numerous awards and honors for his work, most recently from the Denver Business Journal for excellence in patient care. He is on the national board of the Arthritis Foundation and is president of the Rocky Mountain chapter of the Arthritis Foundation. Charles J. Vierck, Jr., PhD: Dr. Vierck has spent 40-plus years conducting leading edge research to better understand how our bodies feel pain. He is currently working with colleagues to develop new tools for diagnosing and treating fibromyalgia, a painful and debilitating disease that affects primarily women. Now Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida School of Medicine, Dr. Vierck is the former director of the Center for Neurobiological Sciences in the University of Florida's McKnight Brain Institute. He has won numerous awards for his research and teaching, including the Javitz Neuroscience Investigator Award, a national prize for scientists. His articles appear regularly in Pain and The Journal of Pain. Dr. Vierck is coauthor of Medical Neuroscience (Saunders). Elizabeth Vierck, MS: Dr. Vierck's sister is a well-known information specialist and writer on health and aging. She writes extensively and frequently about arthritis (all forms), inflammation, aging, and other diseases that involve chronic pain. Ms. Vierck is a Denver-based consultant and writes for many national aging and health organizations. Ms. Vierck is a widely published author with 17 books and numerous other publications to her credit, including the Complete Idiot's Guide to the Anti-Inflammation Diet (with Dr. Christopher Cannon, Penguin), Health Smart (Simon & Schuster), Aging (two volumes, Greenwood), and Keys to Understanding Arthritis (Barrons). Ms. Vierck worked for the U.S. Senate for more than a decade, including the Special Committee on Aging and Labor and Human Resources Committee.

Introduction. Part I: Getting the Lowdown on Chronic Pain. Chapter 1: Hurting That Doesn't Go Away. Chapter 2: Discovering How Pain Works. Chapter 3: When Pain Becomes Chronic. Part II: Detailing Some Causes of Chronic Pain. Chapter 4: Arthritis and Its Cohorts. Chapter 5: My Aching Back. Chapter 6: Head Cases: Migraines and Other Types of Craniofacial Pain. Chapter 7: The Odd Couple: Injuries and Strokes. Chapter 8: Burn Pain. Chapter 9: Digestive and Urinary Conditions. Chapter 10: Reproductive Conditions. Chapter 11: Following the Nerve Pathways: Neuralgias and Neuropathies. Chapter 12: Cancer Pain. Part III: Managing Your Pain Medically. Chapter 13: Putting Together an Anti-Pain Team. Chapter 14: Prescribing Medicines for Chronic Pain. Chapter 15: Taking an Alternative Approach to Pain Management. Chapter 16: Considering Surgery: The Last Resort? Part IV: Managing Your Pain with Lifestyle. Chapter 17: Tracking and Avoiding Pain Triggers. Chapter 18: Nutrition and Weight Control. Chapter 19: Getting Physical: Flexibility, Strength, Endurance, and Balance. Chapter 20: Tackling Fatigue. Chapter 21: Treating Pain and Stress Using the Power of Thought. Chapter 22: Relaxing, Praying, and Creating. Part V: Understanding Pain Throughout the Life Cycle. Chapter 23: Pain in Children. Chapter 24: Pain and Aging. Chapter 25: Pain at the End of Life. Part VI: The Part of Tens. Chapter 26: Ten Ways to Detect Bogus "Cures". Chapter 27: Ten Things to Remember about Pain and Sexuality. Chapter 28: Ten or So Web Sources for People with Chronic Pain. Chapter 29: Ten Things to Avoid When You Have Chronic Pain. Index.