Millions suffer from it. The direct cost of it exceeds $130 billion. And it’s believed to be a common cause of suicide.
“It” sounds like addiction, but these numbers actually pertain to chronic pain, the subject of a new release penned by Dr. Mel Pohl, with help from veteran journalist Mike Donahue.

A Day Without Pain is an ambitious effort to provide information for pain sufferers, professionals and even a general lay audience, about chronic pain and holistic solutions to reduce it. Dr. Pohl is uniquely qualified to tackle this topic, since he helped develop the Chronic Pain Rehabilitation Program at the Las Vegas Recovery Center, where he also serves as the Vice President of Medical Affairs and Medical Director. His own battle with chronic pain has provided him an up-close view of it, too.

Treatment for pain is as old as pain itself. The ancient Greeks used traction and heated marble for back pain, and Dr. Pohl points out that acupuncture was one of the earliest medical interventions to come from China. Unlike many modern day professionals who see it primarily as a medical issue, the author presents chronic pain as a complex phenomenon with biological, psychological, social and spiritual components. The role of culture and gender in experiencing and responding to pain also is described. 

The author builds the framework for his premise and provides an overview of chronic pain and related issues, such as medications, in the first five chapters. Patients who are looking for straight talk about the role of emotions and the effect of chronic pain on family members can proceed directly to Chapters 6 and 8, whereas in Chapters 7 and 9, Dr. Pohl discuss treatment and self-help options. The remainder of the book addresses the mind-body-spirit connection and includes a glossary of terms, references and resources.

Dr. Pohl accomplishes a lot in this book, especially when considering his broad target audience. Sections covering addiction, brain science and other topics will probably look familiar to chemical dependency professionals. But in the daily hustle and bustle of helping clients, it can be easy for counselors to view chronic pain mostly in terms of addiction potential, especially if a client is taking opioids for pain. Dr. Pohl’s discussion of this will help practitioners put it in perspective. 

The author’s presentation of the various overlapping components should be helpful for professionals and clients alike. He pulls the pieces together in a compelling, understandable fashion, citing research to support his assertions and using two case studies to illustrate accordingly. Parts of the book were written primarily for clients, but practitioners should benefit from seeing how Dr. Pohl confronts delicate matters, particularly when he addresses spirituality and “letting go” in Chapter 10.

A few non-counseling treatment interventions described in Chapter 9 are either not widely known or, as the author acknowledges, controversial in some quarters (oxygen therapy, for example). Professionals may need to help clients sort through some of these options. The inclusion of Rational Recovery (RR) in the list of options for addicted clients seems odd, considering RR’s disdain for recovery groups of any kind. Also, Women for Sobriety should have been mentioned as a gender-specific option.

Otherwise, A Day Without Pain provides ample guidance about a topic that will only grow more important. As stated in the book, chronic pain already causes more disability in the United States than cancer and heart disease combined. The incidence of chronic pain will probably increase as more Baby Boomers hit retirement age. Plus, no end in sight to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan means additional thousands of young men and women coming home debilitated by crushing pain.     

One reason this is such an important text is that few in the addiction treatment field appear to be addressing it extensively. Granted, it is a complicated problem that many people believe falls predominantly in the medical arena. But hopefully, Dr. Pohl’s efforts will bring professionals from a variety of disciplines together and generally inspire the type of holistic effort that characterizes the book.

Addiction treatment and other professionals who have only a surface knowledge of chronic pain should definitely read A Day Without Pain. Clients or family members looking for guidance are likely to benefit from the book as well.

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