It Doesn't Have to Hurt
Your Smart Guide to a Pain-Free Life
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3.6 • 11 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
Free yourself from chronic pain with the latest science-backed techniques and expert practical advice from America’s neurosurgeon and bestselling author, Sanjay Gupta.
Are you one of the fifty-two million people who experience chronic pain in day-to-day life? In It Doesn’t Have to Hurt, Sanjay Gupta makes the powerful argument that you can start practicing effective options for relief today to greatly reduce your chances of suffering pain tomorrow.
Gupta shows how pain is not just physical but social and emotional as well. Hard to treat, and too often ignored, it can present in infinite ways. Yet while both patients and practitioners focus on fixing pain problems with drugs or procedures, it turns out we have tremendous agency in choosing how we respond. The brain “creates” pain, but it also has the extraordinary capacity to make it go away. It Doesn’t Have to Hurt shows exactly how.
Gupta covers conventional treatments, such as mobilization, exercise, analgesia, and treatment (MEAT); acupuncture; trigger point injections; and “prehabilitation” before operations, as well as more recent techniques such as mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM) and myofascial therapy. He shares how to make sense of all those over-the-counter pills, patches, and pain products, as well as drugs advertised on television or prescribed by your doctors. He addresses psychedelics, supplements, and CBD. And he highlights insights from some of the nation’s leading pain scientists and specialists, plus stories of challenge and triumph over pain by those with lived experience.
With expert guidance and a wealth of science-backed strategies, It Doesn’t Have to Hurt is your ultimate resource for reclaiming your life from chronic pain and unlocking a future of lasting relief—starting today.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Neurosurgeon and journalist Gupta (Keep Sharp) shares tips for treating chronic pain without opioids or other addictive substances in this practical guide. He notes that nearly a quarter of adults in the U.S. experience chronic pain—whether it be migraines, back pain, joint pain, nerve pain, or other conditions. Finding treatment can be difficult because of the complex, subjective nature of pain, but "there is hope," he argues. Drawing on emerging research and patient interviews, Gupta offers a range of physical and psychological strategies for treating chronic pain, like proper sleep, healthy eating, and exercise. For example, he shares how mindfulness meditation helped a woman relieve chronic back pain, and explores the recent uptick in usage of antidepressants to address persistent migraines. "Pain relief isn't just about physical relief; it is an integral part of a complex, dynamic healing process," he writes. Refreshingly, Gupta sheds light on "invisible" chronic conditions, which lack obvious symptoms and are difficult to test for, like fibromyalgia, a type of musculoskeletal pain. With an empathetic voice, Gupta presents readers with a broad array of accessible techniques and supportive advice. This will empower readers seeking relief from pain.
