Recommended books on persistent pain

Hi all,

I'd recommend these:

Explain pain, by Butler and Moseley
Manage your Pain, by Nicholas, Molloy, Tonkin and Beeston

and more generally:
The happiness Trap, By Russ Harris.

All are great books and highly recommended.

Could you tell us a little more about those books?

Sure, the Happiness Trap is a gentle introduction to the principles of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). ACT focuses on acting mindfully and purposefully throughout life and rejects the notion that we should strive to be happy / pain free all of the time. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest the efficacy of ACT in treating depression and anxiety (which are often associated with persistent pain), and the book made a lot of sense to me when I read it. It's very practical also.

The Explain Pain book is great for understanding the how persistent pain is associated with the sensitisation of the central nervous system (irrespective of whether there is ongoing physical injury or not). It also explains very well how physiological and psychological factors influence our experience of pain - and provides some helpful suggestions about key principles of persistent pain management.

Hope this helps.