EVERYONE EXPERIENCES PAIN NOW AND THEN, whether it’s a stubbed toe, a nick while shaving, or something more serious such as a broken leg. Luckily, such instances usually are fleeting, and the pain subsides as the injury heals.


For an estimated 100 million Americans, however, pain is a con- stant companion — a mean-spirited bully that interferes with family time, work, and fun. And, in many cases, experts report, relief can be frustratingly elusive. “About one in three Americans


experience chronic pain,” confirms Penney Cowan, founder and ex- ecutive director of the American Chronic Pain Association. “It affects more people than diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined and costs more than $600 billion a year [in medical costs].” Chronic pain is an especially com- mon complaint among veterans, adds Col. Chester “Trip” Buckenmaier III, USA (Ret), M.D., director at large for the American Academy of Pain Medi- cine and current program director for the Defense and Veterans Center


for Integrative Pain Management (DVCIPM). In fact, more than 50 per- cent of veterans coming to the VA on any given day will have a basic com- plaint of pain, Buckenmaier reports. Within the medical community,


chronic pain typically is defined as any pain that lasts longer than three to six months. Specific types include chronic headache pain, chronic mus- culoskeletal pain, chronic cancer pain, and chronic back pain, which is one of the most common complaints seen by pain specialists. “Chronic pain is sort of a catch- all term for a number of different conditions,” explains Buckenmaier, who specializes in acute pain issues. “Other types include fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, and phantom limb syndrome, which is sometimes experienced by ampu- tees. It is a very complex and difficult


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96