Explain Pain

[dannyg]

So, when I was a student I read the original 'Explain Pain' by David Butler and Lorimer Moseley - and while it was interesting as far as using it to explain some concepts and research to patients - I didn't enjoy it that much. (If anyone is suffering chronic pain I do Highly recommend 'Painful yarns' by Lorimer Moseley which is a funny and educational read. I steal stories from it all the time to put across the useful concepts, rather than the research)

Anyway - although this book was expensive, I bought it anyway: Explain Pain Supercharged: The Clinicians Handbook. It is FULL of wonderful gems and concepts that support everything we talk about here. 

If any of you in Australia can get hold of a copy (it ships from Australia) I really recommend it. It's excellent. I can write up a full review when I have finished it, if anyone is interested.

The reason I'm posting now is because early on in the book it has a lovely statement that has been buzzing around my head:

 

"The way our body feels to us relates closely to what we are able to make it do"

 

Which immediately made me think of @Kit_L

 

Lorimer Moseley's writing is great anyway though - as he is the first person I heard using the term 'bioplasticity'. Which I have shamelessly stolen, and use all the time. 

 

Hope you are all having a wonderful year so far. 

[Squin2]

Hi danyg

Greetings from Canada.

My wife has fibromyalgia and is constantly in pain. I assume that your comments regarding Explain Pain Supercharged comes from a Clinicians point of view but am wondering if it would be of value to her as a pain sufferer.

The book is expensive but if it could help with the pain it would be invaluable. 

Best regards 

Dale

 

[dannyg]

From page 2 of the book:

 

 

Definitely start with with painful yarns, it has some great stories and metaphors to help understand pain. BUt it depends on your ability to decipher 'Scientific Jargon' if you want to go for EPS or one of the others. Personally I think Explain Pain is more useful than the protectometer book. 

Here's some of the blog, if you want to have a read - and expose yourself to some of the research  - https://noijam.com/2017/12/21/hot-damn-our-top-jams-2017-edition/

 

 

[Squin2]

Thanks for that. 

Most helpful. 

Best regards

d

[Jim Pickles]

My recommended resource for anyone wanting to find out about pain that, like pain from fibromyalgia, is chronic and not necessarily related to any current site of injury in the body, is this video, which discusses central pain, and its treatment (inlcudes useful clinical information).

 

[Kit_L]

On 3/2/2018 at 4:26 PM, dannyg said:

"The way our body feels to us relates closely to what we are able to make it do"

Not precise enough, for me. Here's my perspective:

The way our body feels is identical to what we can make it do.

And (the key point) the feeling, and hence the experience in the moment, may not be accurate; often it is not. Re-acquiring lost movement, even if uncomfortable, is most often the way forward.

I can expand on this, but for beginners in particular (that is, anyone who lives more in their head than in their body, and who does not have a functioning movement vocabulary—in other words, people who do not 'use' their bodies in the way we understand most here do) getting to the end of whatever range of movement they have is experienced as pain, and not simply as a signal that the part has reached its familiar end of ROM as it is to people who do use their bodies and are familiar with them in this way.

I cannot stress the importance of this error, yet almost no one speaks of it.

[AlexanderEgebak]

I have read this book through twice and I can highly recommend it. A bible in terms of understanding pain and other protective mechanisms; as well it gives you a perspective on how to deliver this message to other people through metaphors. I always learn something new when start reading it again.

I can also recommend Therapeutic Neuroscience Education by Adrian Louw et al. Less banter, different structure but still and easy read. Perhaps more patient-friendly without losing value to clinicians. Different metaphors as well.