Pain Management. A Practical Guide for Clinicians

We all know that pain is the symptom that more than any other complaint brings patients to CAM. Thus, textbooks of pain have considerable relevance for CAM. This is the 6th edition of a good and successful book. It covers both theoretical and practical issues of pain, putting an emphasis on the latter. All comprehensive books on pain must contain reference to CAM. This book has many chapters fully dedicated to some but by no means all relevant forms of CAM (e.g. acupuncture, Tai Chi, ‘energetic’ medicine, Qigong, aromatherapy and herbal medicine). These chapters are informative but most FACT readers would probably want them to be more evidence-based than they are. A particular disappointment was the chapter on herbal medicine, which failed to mention the two plants most relevant in this context, namely devil’s claw (Harpagophytum procumbens) and willow (Salix spp.). On the whole, however, this is a good book for clinicians from mainstream medicine. People with specialist CAM interests will find other texts more informative.