Book Nook: 'Pain-Wise'

PAIN-WISE: A Patient's Guide to Pain Management, by David Kloth, M.D., Andrea Trescot, M.D., and Francis Riegler, M.D., M.B.A. Hatherleigh Press Ltd., 144 pp., $15.

Look around -- do you know anyone in pain? A co-worker throws her back out; another suffers nearly a year after a car accident; a friend copes with fibromyalgia.

Chronic pain is more common than you think. The Institute of Medicine, a nonprofit, independent organization, reported last year that 100 million Americans -- one in three -- deal with some type of chronic pain. And sometimes the fix is worse: The damage caused by addictive opioids has been much in the news.

The authors, three physicians trained in interventional pain management, a relatively new subspecialty, explain strategies that can help -- and give tips on finding a good doctor.

THE SCOOP Their survey covers medications, diagnostic testing, injections, radio-frequency ablation, regenerative therapy, implantable techniques and more.

THE BOTTOM LINE There are even chapters on insurance and worker's comp.