Pain: The Science of Suffering (Maps Of The Mind): Amazon.co.uk: Patrick Wall: Books

Amazon.co.uk Review

Pain is a fact of life. It transcends species and has been omnipresent throughout history: most people at some time suffer from it, some enjoy it and seek it out, yet until now few people have attempted to explore it from a philosophical, sociological or physiological standpoint. Patrick Wall, a neuroscientist by training and Fellow of the Royal Society, is well qualified to write on this sadly overlooked area. He is the inventor of the TENS pain relief system which has transformed the experience of labour for millions of women. In 1965, he and Professor Ronald Melzack conceived of the famous "gate theory" of pain control, and in 1993 they coauthored The Challenge of Pain , an update of research in this area.

Pain: The Science of Suffering examines the philosophical basis of pain as well as our physiological experience of it. We are taken on a journey through our nerves, spinal chords, bloods, tissues and brain, laying bare the hard scientific facts of the mechanisms of pain as we know them. Wall also analyses the images of suffering within society, such as those found in cultural stereotypes--why do we have all those Mother-in-Law jokes?--religious experiences such as the Passion of Christ and childbirth. Wall's book is a remarkable achievement, a concise journey through a vast array of new ideas and an effective summary of existing ones. The one criticism of this book is that it is too short! Wall stresses in the "Introduction" that "this is not a textbook". To call it so would be to miss the point of this truly fascinating book. --Alison Jardine

Review

In this generally thoughtful text, Wall offers his belief in the benefit of narcotic medications for cancer patients in pain. Publishers Weekly Wall is a sage neuroscientist who challenges younger pain researchers and the 'new breed of clinicians' to create a contemporary picture of a 'subtle multiplexed reactive system' we call the neurological response to pain. Library Journal Despite his impressive academic qualifications, Wall writes lucidly, using vivid examples, stories from his own life, and a general dose of personal opinions. Readers may find they know more about pain than those who should be experts -- such as their doctors Kirkus Reviews You won't meet a finer piece of popularization this year than Patrick Wall's crack at one of medicine's greatest mysteries. And his book commands attention, coming as it does from the world's expert on the subject. -- Roy Porter The Times (London) A first-class, well-written account of what is known about pain and how to relieve it, by one of the world's greatest experts on the subject... We are all frightened of pain, and we all need to know more about it. This short, comprehensible summary could not be bettered. Both those who suffer and those who attempt to relieve suffering will learn a great deal from it. -- Anthony Storr The Sunday Times (London) [Wall] provides a broad, comprehensive overview of the pain experience and offers a very interesting discourse on the complexities involved in understanding pain and its treatment... The chapters are well organized, with an introduction and closing summary, and... they include descriptions of fascinating studies that have led to breakthroughs in the study of pain...The information on central and peripheral mechanisms involved in pain sensation is well woven in with medical history and clinical cases. This book would be useful to upper-division undergraduates and graduate students entering the pain research arena. It would also interest pain researchers, faculty in academic medicine, medical students, and health professionals who treat pain. -- C.S. Weisse, Union College (NY) Choice --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

A quiet-spoken criticism of medical indifference 7 Sep 2001

By jjandannette@onetel.co.uk, Dr Jeremy J A Black

Format:Hardcover

Patrick Wall makes it clear from the introduction that at the time he wrote this book, he had a personal interest in pain, suffering from the prostate cancer that was eventually to overcome him. This book is beautifully crafted and definitely not a text-book, though it can fill one with enthusiasm for approaching one (if written by the author!). He deals with pain from several perspectives - the scientist's, the physician's, and the patient's. He quietly destroys the complacent medical assumption that if you can't see the damage, there can't be any REAL pain. Reading this as a doctor both invigorates one and at the same time tugs at your conscience for those occasions when you felt the patient was "over-reacting" or suffering "supra-tentorial overlay" - doctorspeak for "they're imagining it". He clearly shows that pain is not reducible to wiring diagrams, nor is it predictable in its nature or severity. For a patient, this book will help to make sense of those chronic pains for which they are all too often allowed to feel must in some way be "their fault". He discusses some common types of chronic pain as well as the treatments available in specialist centres for their treatment. It is sad that Dr Wall will write no more books such as this, but this, his last work, deserves to become a classic text in the field, as well as being a standard text for all medical students.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

Pain the last taboo? 31 Aug 2002

By "gargi38"

Format:Paperback

This book gives an excellent overview of pain, its causes, treatments, etc. Most of it may well have been written before, but, usefully, Dr Wall has brought it all together in one book. What was new to me was his, very detailed, discussion of the part that the placebo effect can play in pain relief. Initially, I was quite angry - how dare he suggest that my drugs only work because I believe that they will? - but as he developed his argument and I stopped and listened to what he was saying rather than reacting to what I thought was being said, it made a lot of sense. Add to that his discussions of how people respond to their own pain and to pain in others and, finally, to his thoughts on pain as 'the last taboo' and the consequent lack of funding for research and the general unwillingness even to talk about pain and the result is an excellent book.

Has my pain gone away? No - that was not the writer's intention. Am I better informed about pain - yes. I'd done my homework and knew a fair amount before I opened this book but,at times, Dr Wall looks at pain in a way which I had not met before. His book is well-written and easy to read. It is by turn, informative and uncomfortable, thought-provoking and caring, annoying and comforting. He writes about pain, as many before him have done, as an academic. What is different is that he writes as an academic in pain, one with practical knowledge of what he is writing about - and it shows!.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

Pleasant Reading About Pain 20 May 2004

By Donald Mitchell HALL OF FAME TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE

I was attracted to this book because earlier in my life I had experienced chronic pain for 8 years. The search for relief was ultimately successful, but the path to finding that relief was long and arduous. What I learned in the process didn't help me very much for being able to advise others, so I hoped this book would help.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Pain contains more information about pain than all that I learned in my personal journey. "Any knowledge that brings patients into a clearer appreciation of their condition decreases their anxiety," says the author, Patrick Wall who is a pain researcher and was suffering from pain related to cancer while authoring the book.

Wall's basic point is that pain is related to many different parts of the brain and body, and is affected by our psychology. Little is known about many aspects of pain, and there is little focus on pain relief in medical training or medical research. Wall knows that the fear of pain is often worse than the pain, so he makes the subject amazingly pleasant. I expected to be depressed by reading the book, and felt elated instead as I learned more about the causes of pain.

The book starts up with case histories where people with severe injuries report no initial pain. The reason seems to be that they were still in a survival mode, and surviving concentrated their attention away from the wound and potential pain. Many frequent "mysteries" of pain are also explored like people who have lost limbs and feel pain in the lost part of the limb.

You will also learn about fascinating experiments to identify causes of pain and their relief. The book goes on to discuss the sources of pain, how treatments interact with those sources, and how placebo effects can reduce pain. For example, did you know that pessimistic people report more pain than others? As a result, I learned that it is normal to have some residual pain from my earlier experiences. I need not be concerned that full pain will return. That was a nice relief.

I suspect that you, too, will lose some of the unnecessary sources of your concerns about pain. And that will probably, in turn, reduce the pain you will experience in your future.

While that is happening, you should examine other areas of your life where you fear the worst. That could be a harmful misconception. Why not begin to expect the best instead? Think about it. There may be another placebo effect to help you there also.