The Brain Behind Pain: Exploring the Mind-Body Connection

Explores the important role of the brain in both the experience of pain and its resolution.

Pain  is a product of the brain, which announces it after being warned by a  small army of nocioceptors stationed throughout the body, always on  alert for any threat to the overall system. But there can be glitches in  that process. Chronic pain often occurs when the brain "remembers"  pain, even though the condition that caused it may have been dealt with  and resolved. Still, pain is misunderstood by many, including both  sufferers and the physicians they seek out to treat it. In recent years,  though, new light has been shed on just what causes pain, how it is  experienced in the body, how it can go haywire, and how it can be  resolved. Pain may no longer be just a symptom of some other malady. In  some cases, it becomes a condition all to itself.

Here, Dr.  Akhtar Purvez, a seasoned physician dedicated to the study and treatment  of pain, offers a comprehensive view of how chronic pain is felt,  transmitted, and modified by the nerves and the brain. He explores the  interplay of the physiological, anatomical, and emotional aspects of  pain in addition to the mental health aspects, cultural differences, and  the role of addiction in pain sufferers. Alongside this enlightening  overview, Dr. Purvez provides hope to readers as he details ways of  treating pain and the new approaches that are becoming available. We all  experience physical pain at some point in our lives, but no longer does  it have to rule our lives or impact our functioning or overall wellness  if we can find the right ways to understand and treat it. This work is  the starting point.