Social Relations and Chronic Pain (Springer Series in Rehabilitation and Health)

While there is widespread recognition among experts that biological, psychological, and social factors influence the experience of pain, for reasons unclear the social component has failed to attract much attention. Recognizing the larger social reality in the background of each patient, this book fills a major gap in the literature by incorporating the social dimension - most significantly, the family - in the overall assessment and treatment of pain. Booknews "It is more than a matter of curiosity that so many chronic pain suffers experience such a high level of frustration with the medical profession." Building on his 1992 , Roy (U. of Manitoba, Winnipeg) exhorts doctors to pay attention to patients as more than carriers of symptoms; consider social environment issues such as family and job loss; and treat them in ways that minimize the typical sense of powerlessness. The final chapter traces a patient's painful journey through the medical system. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Many conflicts emerge in the lives of chronic pain sufferers.