The Mayo Clinic Guide to Pain Relief

By: Barbara K. Bruce, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Barbara K. Bruce

If your life or the life of someone you love has been hijacked by pain, you're not alone. One out of every three US adults lives with chronic pain - pain that can rob you of your vitality, confidence, friendships, intimacy, and even your will to live. But it doesn't have to be that way. That's why the experts at Mayo Clinic have teamed with The Great Courses to craft this research-based guide to pain relief and recovery.

In The Mayo Clinic Guide to Pain Relief, Barbara K. Bruce, PhD., L.P., provides a tried-and-true framework for coping with chronic pain. Dr. Bruce's scientific explanations and biology-based suggestions can help you create a vibrant and fulfilling future for yourself, in spite of chronic pain.

Based on a scientific understanding of the causes of pain and behaviors that make pain better or worse, Dr. Bruce explains why opioids do not work for chronic non-cancer pain; how to empower yourself by developing appropriate "SMART" goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-limited; and how social support affects your physical health. You'll learn about the extraordinary complexities in your brain's interpretation and management of pain and the multifaceted relationships between pain and stress.

This course provides a practical guide for building an appropriate health care team and creating an individualized pain-management program with your physician that addresses the issues of physical stamina, stress management, social support, sleep, and mood. Dr. Bruce doesn't want you to wait for a cure or pain relief before you move back into your life. "I want you to begin living your life today", she says. And with this course, you'll be on your way.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2017 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2017 The Great Courses

Well presented

Loads of great information contained in these courses. The exercise and guided meditation suggestions I found to be helpful.

good for everyone with or without pain

a very concise history of types of pain along with treatments for not necessarily specific for sufferers of pain but for anyone and everyone that has someone in their life experiencing chronic pain chapters of concise specific and non-repetitive

Helpful

Very good explanations of pain and how it functions (or, in my case, malfunctions). This helped me put the explanations I got from my doctor into context and understand how my symptoms fit together. I'll be rereading this regularly to help with motivation for my lifestyle changes.

Absolutely incredible

The narrator is a doctor working on pain medicine at Mayo Clinic and she comes across as so very genuinely compassionate and speaking directly to you. I really, really loved the deep dive into central sensitization. If all the neurology talk puts you off, you can skip that chapter. It can be a bit overwhelming. But I would just pause, look up whatever they were talking about, and go back to it.

This is information condensed into a format that I can generally understand (there's just that one chapter that's tricky) and have not found anywhere else. Not in any other book, website, video, none of it. Not at a level I can understand, in a place I can find, covering the broad swath she did, and backed by all the evidence she provided.

If you have chronic pain, read it. If you have to get an Audible membership just to be able to read this with your first free book, do it. This is gold

Very Informative

I received more answers about how to handle chronic pain than in two decades of searching among multiple doctors.

For Chronic pain suffer's this is a must hear

Who was your favorite character and why?

Not pertinent.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This lecture is the next best thing to actually attending Mayo's program in Rochester. It will undoubted help you with both understanding how chronic pain works and also help you line up some solutions that will help you for the rest of your life.

Improved my life

I recommend this course to everyone, pain or not. Dr. Bruce presents both science and practical techniques clearly. I understood not just that “self care helps pain,” but exactly how each small improvement I made decreased my brain’s pain sensitivity and made my body more resistant. Some how she managed offer meaningful starting places to a broad range of people without judgement or boring. She understood how people like me want to rush progress and for once, I listened about going slow. She also coaxed the fearful with reassurance and small steps. Dr. Bruce clearly has valuable information. It is fortunate that she is also a sensitive and skilled communicator.
The pain management, inpatient program she briefly describes that uses the techniques described in this course along with opiate step down offers a compassionate and effective tool against the opiate crisis. I hope our policy makers know about this work.

Good ideas for the chronic pain

I have had cancer so some of this did not apply. I am in chronic pain now with another disease, I hope this will help me with some relief.
I found the info very informative if not a bit basic.

Leaned so much.

I learned so much and feel so much of this knowledge I did learn I applied to real life. I have been struggling for over a year with fibro and really had a hard time the first year, this book really educated me and helped me be a better advocate for myself.

Very informative!

This was my first Great Course and it has made me want to listen to more of them. This was a Great use of my time.