Overcoming Acute and Chronic Pain – A Review

This is a review of the book Overcoming Acute and Chronic Pain, by Marc S. Micozzi, M.D, Ph.D. and Sebhia Marie Dibra.

Format: Paperback book
Rating: I give it 5 stars

Introduction

This is a review of the book Overcoming Acute and Chronic Pain, by Marc S. Micozzi, M.D, Ph.D. and Sebhia Marie Dibra.

This book is an extensive treatment of many alternative pain relief options.  The secondary subtitle is: From Acupuncture and Biofeedback to Herbs and Essential Oils.  Not only does the book cover several other non-traditional options, but it also has a huge section devoted to determining your emotional type and how your type may impact your response to treatments.

I found this book to be more technical than I expected.  It is backed up with extensive research and references.  Dr. Micozzi has written several books and articles.  See his biographical information here.  Sebhia Marie Dibra has her own website.

The book is broken into three parts.  They are, Part One; Mind-Body Techniques for Pain, Part Two; Hands-On Healing, and Part Three; Managing Pain with Natural Products.

The sections in Part One are:

1. Pain and Your Emotional Type

2. Relaxation and Stress Reduction

3. Biofeedback

4. Imagery and Visualization

5. Hypnosis

6. Meditation and Yoga

7. Spiritual Healing.

Part Two contains three sections, which are:

8. Massage and Bodywork

9. Chiropractic

10. Acupuncture and Qigong.

Finally, Part Three has two sections;

11. Vitamins, Nutritional Foods, and Herbs

12. Essential Oils and Aromatherapy.

What I Like About This Book

This is an especially substantial resource for alternative medicine information.  I bought this book when I first started my journey on searching for relief to my pain and suffering.  It truly opened my eyes to the wealth of options available to us to naturally relieve our pain.

It could honestly be passed by as a resource for natural relief because that isn’t in the title.  But believe me, it has been very helpful.  I was very hopeful when I read the title also, because I have chronic pain and I wanted to overcome it.  Furthermore, the book contains extensive reference notes, bibliography and a helpful index.

An interesting section of this book is the discussion of Emotional Types, or as they refer to it, Boundary Types in Part One.  There is an extensive checklist at the end of the book that uses 146 questions to help you determine your boundary type.

The premise in the book is that your boundary type may affect the success of alternative treatments.  Once you determine which boundary type you may be, you can see how you respond to the various treatments for your condition.   (See image 1 on the right.)  I have determined I am a thick type and fortunately respond well to all the types of modalities for my chronic pain.

But you can see from this image (in the left column) that the book covers several types of suffering which should be helpful to many people.  And the authors are quick to explain that all types can respond to different treatments, as we all have some thick and some thin conditions, which are their boundary types.

Another reason I like this book is because it is very informative with the science and research.  Throughout my research and studying, I have sought to back up what I write with actual studies or write from my experience.  Yes, this website is based on my opinion and experience, but I try to remain faithful to the science because I want what I write to be helpful to my fellow sufferers.

As you would expect, each chapter includes exceptional explanations of the alternative approaches.  Usually included are discussions of what the treatment is, the research related to it, how you may practice it, and if needed, how to find a practitioner.

Before I started my searching, I knew very little about most of these topics.  Now that I have experience with some of them, and have found they help me, I feel more comfortable recommending them.  There are other topics in this book that I have not tried, but which bear examining.  I plan on those to be future posts.

For Example

Let me give an example of how I used this book.  I classify my pain as buttock’s pain, but that topic wasn’t in the index.  However, there is a listing for back pain, so I went to the pages referenced.  I found information in the Massage and Bodywork section  and in the Chiropractic section.  From there I checked out other modalities that I was familiar with and read up on them.  I also reviewed the Natural Products part, where I decided to try turmeric for inflammation and pain and fish oil for neuropathy.

I use acupuncture and yoga to manage my pain.  So I was pleased to see that my body type would respond to these treatments.  I haven’t tried hypnosis!  That would be something to explore!

Here’s a video clip of one of the authors.

What I Don’t Like About This Book

There is very little I don’t like.  And I think it is just personal preference.  The one issue I have it that it is probably too informative when it comes to the research!  As a pain sufferer I want answers to help me end my suffering.  I don’t care about the facts!  Kidding! So I admit I surfed through different sections to find solutions, rather than read the book cover to cover.  I am now reading it more faithfully as I create this website and research options for our relief from pain.  So this is a minor dislike, and one which shouldn’t affect your enjoyment and assistance in finding relief.

Conclusions

This book is very help in providing information for natural pain relief and remedies.

So what do you think?  Would you find this book helpful?  I welcome your comments and questions.  Furthermore, I am interested in other alternatives that you may have tried.  I would even consider researching them and posting them if I think they could help others.  As I’ve said before, we are a community.  We can help each other and support each other to a better quality of life.

Disclaimer

Lastly, remember the preceding thoughts are mine alone, and based on my experience as a pain sufferer.  I am not a doctor.  Do your homework to find certified and licensed practioners of any treatment modality.

Some times I recommmend products where I receive a reimbursement.  I do not have any links here in this article.  But I do recommend the book.  It is a great resource.

Lastly, if you have ever wondered how to build a website, check out my link to Wealthy Affiliate.  This is the platform I am using.  You won’t find a better program.  You can join for free to check it out.  If you do sign up, I receive a referral fee, and become your mentor.  Thanks!