Pain in Practice: Theory and Treatment Strategies for Manual Therapists

Using a single treatment model that can be applied to every patient, this unique book is a valuable guide for assessing, identifying, and treating patients with acute and chronic pain in physical therapy practice. It teaches clinicians how to quickly recognize pain patterns and deal with pain using practical pain management techniques (psychosocial interventions, self-help methods) in combination with familiar musculoskeletal approaches (massage, exercise therapy, TENS). Underlying concepts of neurophysiology endocrine physiology, and psychology are explained to convey a greater understanding of pain science and its links to everyday practice.

'PAIN IN PRACTICE is a very readable user friendly book. it approaches the subject of pain from different perspectives with the overriding theme being releveance to clinical reasoning and thus treatment of patients...The book is well designed with the use of green shaded boxes to summarize or highlight important points. there is good use of patient scenarios to facilitate the linking of theory to practice and the many diagrams and flow charts support the text well.' The British Pain Society Newsletter, Spring 2006. Material is organized according to the hierarchy in the sensory nervous system, from familiar to the increasingly complex causes of pain. A single, overarching clinical reasoning model is presented that integrates psychological, neural, and mechanical knowledge, enabling therapists to assess and treat all patients using the same model. The book's rational approach to analyzing pain syndromes discards overly simplistic notions of pain as a mechanical phenomenon. A comprehensive review of outcome measures is provided, which serves as a convenient reference guide for evaluation and clinical practice. Text boxes highlight patient examples, exercises, and interesting background information. Relevant neurophysiology is discussed in a way that translates the information into practical application. Integrative approach to pain management empowers therapists to use familiar musculoskeletal methods in addition to psychosocial methods, enabling them to choose the most appropriate techniques from both areas.