[.ca] The Chronic Pain Solution: Your Personal Path to Pain Relief (ISBN 0553381113)

Practical Advice For All Lifestyles:
...This book is a gem. There is general pain-relief advice as well as chapters dealing in-depth with certain common conditions. I love that Dr. Dillard presents a range of treatment options, from the free to the very expensive, so money won't keep people from finding some relief. The book contains numerous references to help you find pain-relief specialists. In addition to having up-to-date information, this book is well-written and very positive.

Holistic approach firmly grounded in modern medicine:
Chronic pain has become perhaps the most trying and least understood health problem in this country. Millions of people suffer from chronic pain, and most of them have little hope that their pain will end. Many doctors are ignorant about the pain experience of their patients, and some are even dubious that the pain exists! Part of the problem is that pain is an entirely subjective experience. It has no existence in the world outside of the pain sufferer (and the observable consequences of that pain). There are no instruments that can objectively measure pain. The plain fact, known only too well to chronic pain sufferers, is that nobody feels your pain but you, period. Dr. Dillard, however, among a growing number of progressive and caring physicians, realizes that the pain is real and has trained himself to appreciate and understand pain. On page 59 he even has a list of 68 adjectives for describing pain ranging from "aching" to "gnawing" to "wrenching." Another part of the problem, as Dr. Dillard points out, is that many physicians have not had adequate training in pain management and tend to respond to their patients' needs from a narrow and relative uninformed perspective. A third part of the problem is that pain management is not a medical specialty. Most physicians simply are not experts in treating chronic pain. I am not a chronic pain sufferer, but I know about this tragedy because someone I love has suffered for several years from near-constant pain of unclear origin. She has seen a number of doctors but has found little relief. To some extent she has become discouraged and cynical about ever finding help. I hope she will read this book and be inspired to renew her efforts to manage and reduce her pain. Clearly this book does not offer a magic pill or any sort of miraculous solution. What it offers is an up-to-date and relatively thorough examination of ways to reduce and cope with chronic pain using methods combining alternative and conventional medicine. Dr. Dillard's training and experience as both a chiropractor and a medical physician, and his open-minded and far ranging approach to the healing arts make this well-organized, well presented and eminently readable book the best I have read on the subject. Dillard begins with an attempt to understand pain using a whole body/whole mind approach. He encourages pain suffers to become part of a "pain management team" that includes the patient along with doctors, physical therapists and other professionals. His is a pro-active agenda in which he advocates "Taking Control of Your Treatment" (title of Part II). Part III presents an evaluation of therapies from exercise, yoga, and meditation to acupuncture, pharmaceuticals, implants, and surgery. Part IV outlines the various complaints from headache through back pain and fibromyalgia to myofascial and complex regional pain syndrome. Part V focuses on "Special Considerations," pain management for children, pregnant women, the elderly and terminally ill. Dillard apparently has no prejudices against any given form of treatment, evaluating each according to its merits and appropriateness. He sees a place for methadone as well as meditation. Indeed, he usually recommends a combination of approaches. Even though there is no magic bullet yet, and even though such a miracle may be many years in the future, Dr. Dillard's book offers hope that chronic pain can be reduced and managed (and in some cases eliminated entirely). People who are completely disabled by their pain can gain enough control to return to a more active lifestyle. Others who live only a reduced existence because of their pain may again find the joy in living. What Dr. Dillard's experience shows is that those who take an active part in managing their pain receive a synergistic effect by their active involvement. He emphasizes that immobility and lack of exercise (caused by the pain) tend to increase the pain experience, while exercise and an active engagement with life tend to reduce it. Consequently his approach for those whose pain is so bad they cannot exercise at all is to recommend even very strong pain medications so that exercise is possible, and then as activity increases to gradually lower the dosage. This is an excellent first course in understanding and managing chronic pain and the sort of book that pain sufferers will want to read.

Full Of Pain-Free Alternatives We Never Even Thought Of:
This is an exceptional book for Chronic Pain sufferers seeking modern day therapy and answers to all of their questions which most doctors have no time to answer. Dr Dillard is incredibly knowledgable and covers all avenues to help you and your doctors agree on what treatments are right for you. If you suffer with Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Migraines, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Arthritis or other debilitating pains, then I highly recommend this very positive and informative book. You will refer to it over and over again.

Dr. Michael L. Johnson:
An excellent book!!! Dr. Dillard does a great job with his in-depth explanations of chronic pain and its various treatment protocols. In my 21 years of private practice have treated many cases in which patients who suffered from chronic pain were accused of "faking it" by their doctors. Chronic pain is REAL!! In my humble opinion, medicine does a great job in the treatment of acute care ( broken bones, heart attacks, strokes, etc.) but drops the ball when it comes to the chronic pain patient. Dr. Dillard shows you how to get back in the game! Dr. Michael L. Johnson, author of "What Do You Do When the Medications Don't Work--A Non-Drug Treatment of Dizziness, Migriane Headaches, Fibromyalgia, and Other Chronic Conditions".

Chronic Pain Management by James Dillard:
This work is valuable in helping people identify modalities for chronic pain. Oftentimes, the patient may need to assemble a team of professionals in order to maximize the effort. The author criticizes the reductionist/conventional approach as being too harsh, invasive and ineffective. He stresses the importance of evaluation and followup mechanisms to manage pain on an ongoing basis. The author cites the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine as an authoritative resource to help patients sift through the maze of alternative medicinal options available to them. For instance, Rolfing is a classical "deep tissue therapy" for managing all kinds of neuromuscular problems and complaints. Fascia manages connective tissue disorders through advanced forms of stretching targeted muscle groups. The TENS mechanisms are intended to block pain. This work is an important resource to help patients identify the sources and strategies to manage pain effectively on an immediate and ongoing basis. The book is an important addition to any alternative medicine personal library. It would be a perfect gift for any adult interested in the alternative medicinal protocols.