Meanings of Pain: Volume 2: Common Types of Pain and Language

Description

Experiential evidence shows that pain is associated with common meanings. These include a meaning of threat or danger, which is experienced as immediately distressing or unpleasant; cognitive meanings, which are focused on the long-term consequences of having chronic pain; and existential meanings such as hopelessness, which are more about the person with chronic pain than the pain itself. This interdisciplinary book - the second in the three-volume Meanings of Pain series edited by Dr Simon van Rysewyk - aims to better understand pain by describing experiences of pain and the meanings these experiences hold for the people living through them. The lived experiences of pain described here involve various types of chronic pain, including spinal pain, labour pain, rheumatic pain, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, fibromyalgia, complex regional pain syndrome, endometriosis-associated pain,and cancer-related pain. Two chapters provide narrative descriptions of pain, recounted and interpreted by people with pain. Language is important to understanding the meaning of pain since it is the primary tool human beings use to manipulate meaning. As discussed in the book, linguistic meaning may hold clues to understanding some pain-related experiences, including the stigmatisation of people with pain, the dynamics of patient-clinician communication, and other issues, such as relationships between pain, public policy and the law, and attempts to develop a taxonomy of pain that is meaningful for patients. Clinical implications are described in each chapter. This book is intended for people with pain, their family members or caregivers, clinicians, researchers, advocates, and policy makers. Front Matter ....Pages i-viii Exploring the Meanings of Pain: My Pain Story (Joletta Belton)....Pages 1-15 After the Tango in the Doorway: An Autoethnography of Living with Persistent Pain (Bronwyn Lennox Thompson)....Pages 17-35 Diagnosing Human Suffering and Pain: Integrating Phenomenology in Science and Medicine (Smadar Bustan)....Pages 37-58 “Pain Takes Over Everything”: The Experience of Pain and Strategies for Management (Marie Crowe, Deb Gillon, Cate McCall, Jennifer Jordan)....Pages 59-76 Changing Pain: Making Sense of Rehabilitation in Persistent Spine Pain (James E. Eubanks, Michael E. Farrell, Brandon S. Barndt, Chandler L. Bolles, Maria Vanushkina, James W. Atchison)....Pages 77-102 “Let Me Be a Meaningful Part in the Outside World”: A Caring Perspective on Long-Term Rheumatic Pain and Fear-Avoidance Beliefs in Relation to Body Awareness and Physical Activities (Helena Lööf)....Pages 103-116 The Importance of Pain Imagery in Women with Endometriosis-Associated Pain, and Wider Implications for Patients with Chronic Pain (Christopher J. Graham, Shona L. Brown, Andrew W. Horne)....Pages 117-141 Labour Pain (Laura Whitburn, Lester Jones)....Pages 143-162 Living with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: Understanding the Battle (Colleen Johnston-Devin, Florin Oprescu, Marion Gray)....Pages 163-183 Cancer Pain and Coping (Sara E. Appleyard, Chris Clarke)....Pages 185-207 Common Meanings of Living with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathic Pain from the Perspective of Patients (Zehra Gok Metin)....Pages 209-231 Connotations of Pain in a Socio-Psycho-Biological Framework (John Quintner, Melanie Galbraith, Milton Cohen)....Pages 233-247 Is “Chronic Pain” a Meaningful Diagnosis? (Milton Cohen, John Quintner)....Pages 249-260 The Meaning of Pain Expressions and Pain Communication (Emma Borg, Nathaniel Hansen, Tim Salomons)....Pages 261-282 On Saying It Hurts: Performativity and Politics of Pain (Grant Duncan)....Pages 283-301