Miscellaneous

THE PAINFUL TRUTH

THE NEW SCIENCE OF WHY WE HURT AND HOW WE CAN HEAL

MONTY LYMAN

Bantam Press, 286pp, £20

In The Painful Truth, Monty Lyman, a doctor, though not a pain specialist, examines the chronic pain that is becoming a ‘silent pandemic’ in the UK. Chronic pain is pain that lasts for 12 weeks or longer, despite getting treatment. ‘It ruins socialising, your sex life, your daily functioning. It is the highest cause of work-related absence.’ Backs are the worst affected, followed by joints, muscles, and headaches.

Conventional medicine has regarded pain as a ‘detector’, warning you not to do more damage to the affected part. Lyman maintains that this is a serious misconception, encouraging the sufferer towards inertia when moderate exercise might be more helpful. The fact that pain thresholds differ so substantially between