Chronic Pain and the Family

Julie K. Silver, M.D., is Associate Professor and Associate Chair for Strategic Initiatives in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School and Spaulding Rehabilitation Network. She is the author of Post-Polio Syndrome: A Guide for Polio Survivors and Their Families.

• 1. What Is Chronic Pain? 2. Effect on the Couple 3. Intimacy and Sexual Activity 4. Work Issues 5. Childbearing and Inheritance 6. Growing Up with a Parent in Pain 7. Chronic Pain in Children 8. The Extended Family 9. Emotional Changes and Depression 10. Medication Dependence and Addiction 11. Diagnosing Chronic Pain Conditions 12. Traditional Treatment Options 13. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Afterword Appendix: Resources Suggested Reading Notes Acknowledgments Index

In this latest entry in Harvard University's useful series of concise guides for families aiding sick members, Silver examines how family relationships can be affected by chronic pain: the impact on parents of suffering children, and on children of suffering parents, the role of extended family, the effect on intimacy and sexual activity, and more. Silver clearly discusses medication and other treatments as well, including alternative medicine. Useful sidebars deal with specific issues: one suggests ways to eliminate unhelpful chronic pain behaviors that can alienate friends; another gives a list of pain medications associated with sexual dysfunction. Silver's advice is wise and sensible, based on her own years of practice with chronic pain patients.