Freedom from Chronic Pain: The Breakthrough Method of Pain Relief Based on the New York Pain Treatment Prog [Hardcover]

Norman J. Marcus (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 7, 1994

A leading researcher in pain treatment presents a breakthrough drug-free system for dealing with chronic pain, showing in careful steps how sufferers can master techniques involving exercise, nutrition, and coping mechanisms that master pain. 35,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Marcus, medical director of the New York Pain Treatment Program at Lenox Hill Hospital, and medical writer Arbeiter present the hospital's problem-oriented and drug-free approach to pain. Patient histories are used to illustrate how body awareness, exercise, and coping and relaxation techniques can be used to control and reduce the devastating effects of chronic pain. Individual analog charts and scales allow patients to assess the severity of their pain and to chart their progress to a life no longer dominated by pain. The benefits and complications of pain medications--prescription and over-the-counter--are also discussed. In the end, this book is not as comprehensive as Jane Cowles's Pain Relief ( LJ 11/1/93) but is more like Richard Reilly's Living with Pain ( LJ 5/1/93), which describes a specific program. For popular health collections.
- Jodith Janes, Cleveland Clinic Fdn.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Colette Bouchez Newsday This book could make a big difference in your life.

Peter R. Wilson, M.D. The Mayo Clinic Dr. Marcus has developed a breakthrough program written from the patient's point of view, which is a major contribution to the conquest of pain. It educates and empowers the patient and provides powerful insights for all pain practitioners. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Printing edition (April 7, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671798928
• ISBN-13: 978-0671798925
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,321,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clear strategy given for chronic pain sufferers., October 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Freedom from Pain: The Breakthrough Method of Pain Relief Based on the New York Pain Treatment Program at Lenox Hill Hospital (Paperback)

This book is a good read for those of us who have attempted many different methods and seen countless doctors in an effort to alleviate the suffering at the hands of chronic pain.

The main leap of faith one has to make if this book is to be at all effective is that chronic pain is muscular in nature. How we deal with this knowledge is the key to overcoming chronic pain's hold on us. This is not to say that chronic pain cannot be treated by various medical procedures. Only that if pain persists for long periods of time, a new approach may be needed.

In my own case, after five years of headaches, I finally was diagnosed with feraminal stenosis at C3-C4 and had a dissection and fusion performed. In laymen's terms, two of my nerves roots were constricted where they exited the spine in my neck. The operation basically "cleaned up" the area surrounding the nerves roots. By doing this operation from the front of the neck, a disk is sacrificed and a piece of bone implanted for fusion.

After this operation, I still struggled with very much the same pain as before, once the operative recuperation was complete. My neurosurgeon and I were quite sure that the operation had repaired the damage that had been causing my pain. My neurosurgeon was quick to note this did not necessarily mean that the pain would go away. I was told the pain may be eliminated totally, partially or not at all. Not what one wants to hear but, honest nonetheless.

I give my own history so that others with chronic pain might at least listen to my review of the book and its methods.

Whether one has had treatment of one sort or another to alleviate chronic pain or not, this book is worth a read. I would also recommend that you inform your doctor of this book.

This book attempts, I believe successfully, to have you take control of your pain and life rather than the other way around. The use of medications is not dismissed altogether although it makes a strong case on eventually eliminating painkilling medication along with tranquilizers.

I have found that while using the steps described in the book do require dedication and some effort, it is much less than the energy used by letting chronic pain rule your life.

The book concentrates on three facets of your life. The first is to slowly get the muscles throughout your body moving to the point where some pain reduction occurs which in turn can ease the transition to a life without painkillers and tranquilizers.

The second component of the book's program is where your mind is used as a tool to help reduce chronic pain. This comes in the form of relaxation exercises and using your mind to focus on ways to prevent chronic pain attacts from dominating your life.

The third component of the program is in the area of diet. In a nutshell, it asks that you eat sensibly and eliminate, at least for the short term, caffeine and alcohol from your diet.

I have taken the steps described in this book over the past six months. I can honestly say that while I still suffer from some pain, the pain no longer rules my life. The steps I take daily to combat the pain have allowed me to go back to work, although in a very different field.

In ending, I quote from page 197: "Many people go around half alive, caught in an emotional rut that they never try to analyze. But chronic pain in a strange way, has forced introspection upon you. Pain, which laid you low, can actually be an opportunity to turn your life around, if you have the courage to look at what is bothering you."

If you can find that courage, this book will guide you on a journey that could change your life.

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, this is worth every cent you pay for it., May 16, 2002

By 

Gary Barnett (Upper Montclair, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Freedom from Pain: The Breakthrough Method of Pain Relief Based on the New York Pain Treatment Program at Lenox Hill Hospital (Paperback)

I have just completed a 10 day therapeutic session with Dr. Marcus and for the first time in 27 years I am feeling like a normal person. I no longer am "a patient", which is an insidious condition in your mind that can happen suddenly, or very slowly, as it did for me. I spent the last 8 years searching constantly for any kind of relief--from acupuncture to chiropractic to physical therapy and eventually giving in to whatever meds I could get prescribed for me...nothing worked.

Today, 10 days after beginning his treatment, I have a completely new outlook on the remainder of my life. I still have some pain, but it is not overwhelming, nor is it depressing, nor keeping me from living the life I have ahead of me to its fullest. This book helps you adjust your mindset in various ways in very simple, nonsensical ways. It is easy to read, and, when you are ready, easy to follow. I can't praise him or his book any more than this. He's a top-rated doc in Manhattan for the last 3 years and there's a good reason for it. His book will help you get to him or at least his ideas, and to stay with those concepts for as long as it takes to life a full life again.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Puts pain in the proper perspective, August 12, 2005

By 

Catherine Allen (Bakersfield, Ca.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Freedom from Pain: The Breakthrough Method of Pain Relief Based on the New York Pain Treatment Program at Lenox Hill Hospital (Paperback)

I have been "suffering" chronic pain for over a year. The first thing that hit me with this easy to read book was that I have a choice to take control rather than just giving in and becoming addicted to the first thing doctors suggest -- narcotic pain medication. Because of the suggestions in this book I am working with my doctors at the pain management clinic to get off of these drugs. I am learning to change my focus immediately when I feel the pain and to integrate many forms of treatment. It is well worth the read.