Pain: The Ultimate Mentor

A truly empowering approach to pain and wellbeing that might just change your life."What sets this book apart is its portrayal of pain as a mentor. The author persuasively argues that pain, when understood and managed correctly, can lead to profound personal growth and improved health. This approach offers a refreshing and empowering perspective, enabling individuals to take charge of their pain management." British Journal of General Practice"Essential reading for anyone in pain" Sir Terry WaiteI WORK WITH PAIN. People don’t come to see me because they are feeling good and want to keep things that way. They don’t come to see me because they recognise that life doesn’t always go to plan, and they’d like to tip the odds in their favour to reduce the risk of illness and injury down the line. They don’t come to see me because they understand that we are all living longer and getting older, which increases prevalence of chronic disease and requires us to take ownership over our quality of life. No. They come to see me because they are in pain, and they want it to stop. My job is to help them understand how pain is connected to all those issues, and that it holds the key to solving them. I help them understand pain a little differently. Pain isn’t nice, but it is much more than an unpleasant sensation. Pain is a signal to grab your attention, a protector, a guide, a call to action and a mentor. It is telling you that something needs to change. It might feel counterintuitive, but pain can help guide you in working out what those changes need to be. Wherever you are in life – maybe you’re fit and well and hoping to stay that way; maybe you’re a high achiever who’s used to challenging yourself; maybe you struggle to climb the stairs and get through the day; maybe you’re suffering from persistent pain and feel like you’ve tried everything already – understanding how pain works, how it is trying to help you improve your quality of life, is what I do. You don’t need to fear pain, but you do have to recognise that it is there for a reason. It’s just not necessarily the reason you thought it was."Having been the lucky recipient of lifechanging physiotherapy treatment and advice from the author Kevin Hunt a few years ago I was very keen to get this book. Now I know it was not a magic trick it was a combination of science, calm rational thinking and questioning the situation which helped me control my pain." J. VenablesKevin Hunt is a chartered physiotherapist with a specialist interest in persistent pain. The reason he wrote the book he explains:"In my clinical practice over the last 25 years I have come to understand that pain is a protective system trying to guide and mentor us to sustainable health and wellbeing. Unfortunately the majority of people fear pain and often end up with unhelpful behaviours, inadequate treatments and deteriorating quality of life. With this book I hope to change peoples attitude towards pain and help those suffering with persistent pain to understand how pain works, why it behaves the way it does and how they can use pain as a mentor towards a better, more sustainable quality of life". Read more