The book will reassure those suffering from chronic pain and readers that pains can be treated, and not just be ‘managed’. Contemporary pain management comprises some very sophisticated treatments, which address various parts of the nervous system that have been historically assumed to be responsible for pain. The author's approach is that all neuropathic pains are neuromyopathic with a major muscle pain component where the muscles are the final common factor in all chronic pains. This premise led to the innovation of a new system of pain management, which has been gratifyingly effective, providing cures for many complicated conditions. The book is about the discovery that many types of chronic pain are curable and others easily manageable. The novel concepts developed by the author and her research on pain management are described in this book. These are unique, and will be of interest to doctors, researchers, students, and patients.
Author(s): Lakshmi Champak Vas
Edition: 1
Publisher: CRC Press
Year: 2024
Language: English
Tags: Chronic Pain; Oncology Nursing; Pain Medicine
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgements
Table of Contents
Glossary of Abbreviated Medical Terms
Preamble—How It All Started
Introduction
The field of pain management
Private practice in pain management
Moving forward
The big step towards pain management
1. Understanding the Concept of Pain
What is pain?
Mechanism of pain perception: From physical injury to pain sensation
The relationship between pain and injury; Exploring the connection
Understanding the pain pathway; Exploring how pain signals are transmitted
The transformation of a physical sensation into pain and suffering: Exploring the mechanisms and factors involved
The protective nature of pain: Examining its role and exceptions
Understanding chronic pain: Mechanisms, impact and treatment
Variability in the experience of pain
Genetics
Ethnicity
Cultural beliefs
Gender
Other long-term health problems
Psychological factors
Social factors
Past experiences
Other individual factors
Pain as a sensation to be learnt
Types of pain
Acute pain
Chronic pain
How does pain become chronic?
The gate control theory of pain
Mechanisms of pain suppression
Further classification of pain
2. The Out-of-the-Box Approach
Specific protocol
The out-of-the-box understanding of chronic pain
Understanding neuropathic pain
Mechanism of muscle involvement in neuropathy
Classic sensory features of neuropathy and USGDN
3. Treatment Protocols
Conservative treatments
Medications
Physical therapy (PT)
Interventional treatment
Basic neural interventions
Advanced interventions
Exclusive innovations
Ultrasound guided dry needling (USGDN)
Evolution of simple DN into the USGDN
Ultrasound guided Botox
4. The Ultrasound Guided Botulinum Toxin
Botox for dystonia
Diminishing utility of botox in migraine
Botox and back pain
Reversal of structural changes of the spine with botox and USGDN
Botox and USGDN for cancer pain
Botox and USGDN for liver cancer
Botox for metastasized brain cancer
5. Intuitive Learning of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS)
Different approach to CRPS
Face-to-face with CRPS
The muscle pathology
Successful out-of-the-box hypothesis and treatment
The hows and whys of success
Tangible proof with objective demonstration
Conclusion
6. Physiotherapy, Yoga, and Pain
Physiotherapy (PT)
Interesting cases
Yoga and chronic pain
The hazards of self-styled yoga
7. The Mind-Body Connection and Pain
Chronic pain patients go doctor-shopping without getting relief
Physician factors responsible for the situation
Patient factors responsible for the perpetuation of chronic pain
The “half-empty glass” syndrome
Attitude counts
Pain and suffering
Fibromyalgia
8. Case Studies
Cancer pain patients
A humbling experience
The Paralysed shall walk!
Chronic pelvic pain
Painful bladder syndrome
Where there’s a will, there’s a way
Care for the back
A pain specialist’s pain
We shall succeed!
Index
