cover image WOMEN AND PAIN: Why It Hurts and What You Can Do

WOMEN AND PAIN: Why It Hurts and What You Can Do

Mark Allen Young, with Karen Baar. . Hyperion, $24.95 (376pp) ISBN 978-0-7868-6794-3

Young, a licensed acupuncturist and a physician specializing in physical and rehabilitative medicine, and Baar, a journalist who writes on health issues, offer this manual on women and pain. Research conducted by the National Institutes of Health in 1998 found that women experience more pain than men do and express their suffering more openly. Unfortunately some medical professionals see their female patients as overly emotional, even hysterical, and do not adequately treat their painful symptoms. Described here are many ailments that may cause women pain, including female-specific conditions (PMS, pelvic pain and pregnancy) as well as more general disorders, such as pain resulting from problems of the spine, feet and nerves. Young presents an informed overview of each situation and provides supporting anecdotes from his patients. He provides a clear explanation of how pain can be successfully alleviated by both conventional and alternative medicine. A self-described "integrative physician," he believes that traditional drug therapies may be necessary in certain cases, but relies more heavily on diet, exercise, herbs and homeopathic remedies. For example, he discusses the role of drugs and steroid injections to relieve the pain of osteoarthritis, but he also details a variety of dietary and herbal strategies (with recipes) as well as the benefits of acupuncture. This self-help book will be of most assistance to women who are open to the benefits of alternative medicine. National publicity.(Jan.)