The Chronic Pain Solution: The Comprehensive, Step-by-Step Guide to Choosing the Best of Alternative and Conventional Medicine

Every morning, more than 50 million Americans wake up to another day in pain. If you are one of them, you know the way chronic pain can take over your life: the lost work and missed pleasures, the harsh drugs or surgeries, the feelings of anger and frustration, the endless search from doctor to doctor. It doesn’t have to be that way.

This remarkable book, by one of the leading pain specialists in America, puts in your hands the resources usually available only at the most sophisticated pain clinics. Recent research has shown that the solution to the puzzle of pain is almost never one “magic bullet” treatment. What works is a combination of therapies--often three or more--customized to your individual needs. Some drugs or surgeries can actually make your condition worse, while surprisingly gentle alternative therapies can provide measurable, lasting relief. The key is knowing how to combine the best of both conventional and alternative medicine.

Dr. James Dillard offers you what few physicians today are trained to provide:

• fascinating new information on how pain affects your body and mind--including six myths that can keep you from healing
• a detailed guide to more than 40 treatment methods, from state-of-the-art microsurgery and pharmaceuticals to acupuncture,
yoga, and biofeedback
• individual chapters on the 12 most common types of pain, from arthritis and back pain to fibromyalgia and migraines--clearly indicating what works and what to avoid
• The Pain-Control Diet--and 20 top supplements for pain relief
• how to build your pain-management team and get what you need from your insurance company
• checklists, self-evaluations, and guides for tracking treatment
• special chapters on children, seniors, pregnant women, terminal pain--plus how you can help a loved one in pain

You can take back your life from pain. The Chronic Pain Solution will guide you every step of the way.

James N. Dillard, M.D., D.C., C.Ac., is assistant clinical professor, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and clinical adviser to Columbia’s Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. He is also attending physician, the New York–Presbyterian Hospitals; attending physician, Beth Israel Medical Center, Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care and Continuum Center for Health and Healing; and director of Complementary Medicine Services, University Pain Center, Manhattan. His media appearances have included The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and the CBS Evening News.

Leigh Ann Hirschman is a Chicago-based writer.