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Rating: 
Summary: What a find for a chornic pain sufferer!
Review: After over 15 years managing my chronic pain, finally a book that clearly and concisely addresses current complimentary modalities of treatment.Dr. Dillard continually hits the nail on the head with the inforamtion he shares with his readers. This is the first book that I've read that really describes pain and how it works so that you can understand the process and how it may be interrupted and/or stopped for good. His advice in evaluating practitioners is very useful as well as information on diet and supplements that are most effective for different kinds of pain. I heartily recommend this book to anyone who suffers from chronic pain or anyone who has a loved one and wants to understand better how they may assist them.
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Summary: Full Of Pain-Free Alternatives
Review: 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".
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Summary: Holistic approach firmly grounded in modern medicine
Review: 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.
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Summary: Fabulous
Review: I had almost given up on my pain. I was of the attitude that I had to live with it.I work 3/4 time sometimes full time but am always in pain.I started back acupuncture & seeked out new doctors .After finding out at John Hopkins that I cannot have another surgery on my back, the doctor mentioned several of the alternatives that were talked about in the book. I have ruptured disks in my back and neck, two pinched nerves in back and neck, athritis,fibromyalgia. Between all of them its 24 hours a day, 352 days a year of pain. I still do not believe I will ever be pain free but I again believe there is help but I have to work at it also. My biggest advise is to keep an excellent attitude, keep your job and understand how very lucky you are as a person. there is always someone else out there who is in much worse condition. Get up every morning, no matter how bad you feel and say a thank you prayer to your higher power it works. Also, READ THIS WONDERFUL BOOK. I read the review from the woman who thought it was depressing, try reading it again. We cannot feel sorry for ourselves but every once in a while, it takes us down. Good luck to other fellow pain sufferers.
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Summary: Full Of Pain-Free Alternatives We Never Even Thought Of
Review: 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.
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Summary: Chronic Pain Management by James Dillard
Review: 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.
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Summary: Practical Advice For All Lifestyles
Review: When I first started to read this book, I thought there was somethig wrong with me - I should be able to get rid of my pain. Then I realized there is something wrong with this book. This author's head is in the sand, unfortunately a common experience when seeking medical help. For me, this book depressed me; it didn't offer help or hope. As with so many other doctors or books, "If only you..." do this or that thing, or all of these things, you'll feel so much better. The onus is on the patient. Speaking as a patient who has devoted the last eight years of my life to my medical condition, all I can say is I had to put this book down; it was that depressing.
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