Relieve Your Child’s Chronic Pain

by Elliot J. Krane, M.D. with Deborah Mitchell
Fireside Original/Simon and Schuster Trade Paperback
309 pages
$14
Reviewed by Kathleen Risk

How many times have we kissed our children’s “boo-boos” to help them feel better?  How many times have we heard “time heals all wounds?” That might work for most people, but what happens when your child has chronic pain? No amount of time or kisses can make that go away!
 
This book, though, offers tips to assist parents whose children suffer from chronic pain such as FMS, headaches, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and more. The book is divided into three parts that build on each other to educate parents on the peculiarities inherent in children’s chronic pain. For example, children process pain differently than adults do; children do not have stores of memories to aid them in dealing with pain, so all pain is equally painful and, in the child’s mind, might go on forever. Children also have a greater diversity of pain, and respond to drug and non-drug therapies differently than adults; as the authors say, “…let’s remember that children are not miniature adults.” In the first section, the authors also discuss the many types of chronic pain children experience, such as complex regional pain syndrome, migraine (a study was cited by the authors that stated that children as young as four months old can experience migraine!), endometriosis, cancer, and other pain syndromes.
 
The second section deals with creating a program to help your child (ren) with chronic pain. Everything is covered, from getting a diagnosis, to finding the right specialists for your child’s needs, to starting a pain diary and getting involved in a support group. The power of the mind is also explored and complementary medicine, normally a taboo in most medical discussions, is actively encouraged by these authors, as they have seen the value treatments like acupuncture and massage can have on children’s pain. 
 
There is an entire chapter devoted to medical interventions, including opioids and nerve blocks. The authors make it clear that they do not like to use opioids in children because of the side effects, but acknowledge that these drugs do have a place in treatment; they state, “Judicious use of opioids in children with chronic pain is usually very safe and can make a significant, positive difference in the life of a child who lives with pain.”
 
The last two chapters in this section deal with keeping your family healthy and not focusing exclusively on the sick child or catering to him/her, then getting your child out into the world and dealing with the problems that arise from that—such as teasing, limitations, and guilt from feeling that the pain is punishment for some wrong committed by the child.
 
The final section answers questions from parents about children’s pain, and offers success stories (no last names given) from children the authors have seen in their practice. There are also stories throughout the book of real cases in which children were helped by the specific treatments discussed in each section of the book. These stories give parents like me hope that our children can be helped with their chronic pain.

 
The end of the book gives many resources for parents looking for help for their child. Overall, this is a highly recommended book for those of us wanting to relieve our children’s chronic pain.