Holistic Pain Relief

October 7, 2013
While in medical school, Tick, now a physician who practices integrative medicine, learned how to use acupuncture to address her shoulder pain; thus began a lifelong fascination with practices that enhance the body’s ability to heal itself. Here, Tick addresses the staggering number of Americans suffering from chronic pain (over 100 million, estimated); the soaring costs of pain management ($16.6 billion spent in one year); and the problems with conventional treatments. Prescribing the latest painkiller of choice often fails to get to the root of the problem, she asserts, while integrative medicine deals with the whole body, including diet and lifestyle issues. In part one, Tick describes a visit with an integrative physician, which includes a head-to-toe musculoskeletal exam (and from which her patients are more likely to leave with a recipe for lentils than with medication). Part two focuses on pain solutions, beginning with diet, and the observation that one “changes the body’s internal chemistry” every time one eats. In part three, Tick guides readers toward establishing a team of helpful professionals in the pain recovery process. This excellent guide will help patients take healing into their own hands. Agent: Claire Gerus, Claire Gerus Literary Agency.