Pain Management - Assessment and Treatment of Chronic and Acute Syndromes.

Pain Management--Assessment and Treatment of Chronic and Acute Syndromes This book is a collection of chapters on various aspects of acute and chronic pain. It was written by 20 authors, most of whom are affiliated with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The stated purpose of the book is to provide information on chronic and acute pain for primary-care physicians.

The text is divided into four parts that deal with the nature of chronic pain, assessment of chronic pain, modalities used in pain therapy, and major pain problems. The quality of the individual chapters varies greatly; some are very informative and well written and others are poorly edited and of little value. Particularly enlightening chapters include those dealing with the psychological aspects of chronic pain, clinical and experimental pain assessment, headache, the failed back syndrome, and the rehabilitation of patients with chronic low back pain. The chapters addressing specific modalities used in pain therapy are generally weak and view pain from a narrow perspective. This is unfortunate, because the early chapters clearly and correctly convince the reader that pain is a complex and multifaceted experience, flavored by a large number of variables and expressed by a variety of behavioral means. It would have been helpful if the authors of the chapters on modalities had indicated how and where these particular interventions fit in with the concept of pain presented earlier. Editorial guidance in this regard would have increased the value of the book.

The text does present information on acute and chronic pain; however, the approach is largely uncritical. Little new information is presented. Only the few good chapters indicated above will help reduce the confusion that exists in this area. The chapters on modalities used in pain therapy offer little to the physical therapist. Information concerning major pain problems is better presented in works dealing specifically with those problems. In my opinion, the editor attempted too large a ask and, as a result, has not adequately achieved his intended objective.