Chronic Pain and the Family: A New Guide
ISBN: 9780674043657
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / Harvard University Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: Chronic pain -- Patients -- Family relationships -- Popular works;

Anyone who has experienced chronic pain knows how debilitating and disruptive it can be. But pain doesn't only affect the sufferer; according to medical professor Silver, it "is a familial experience that dramatically changes the dynamics of the family." In this latest entry in Harvard University's useful series of concise guides for families aiding sick members, Silver examines how family relationships can be affected by chronic pain: the impact on parents of suffering children, and on children of suffering parents, the role of extended family, the effect on intimacy and sexual activity, and more. Silver clearly discusses medication and other treatments as well, including alternative medicine. Useful sidebars deal with specific issues: one suggests ways to eliminate unhelpful chronic pain behaviors that can alienate friends; another gives a list of pain medications associated with sexual dysfunction. Silver's advice is wise and sensible, based on her own years of practice with chronic pain patients and, though her book is by no means comprehensive, it's a good place to start.(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved All rights reserved.

Julie K. Silver is the Medical Director of the International Rehabilitation Center for Polio at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Massachusetts. She is also an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation.


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