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John Walsh
How Much Does It Hurt?
Aching, throbbing, searing, excruciating – pain is difficult to describe and impossible to see. So how can doctors measure it? John Walsh finds out about new ways of assessing the agony.
Mosaic, 2017
What's inside?
No one else can feel your pain, so how can your doctor possibly understand it and treat it effectively?
Recommendation
After his wife went through a health episode that involved excruciating pain, seasoned journalist John Walsh became curious about how doctor assess and treat a sensation as complex and subjective as a patient’s pain. Walsh presents the fundamentals of a thriving new field of inquiry, where researchers – who come across as genuinely concerned about pain patients – are developing tools to measure pain, using brain scans to understand its origins and employing tactics that trick the brain into ignoring unhelpful pain messages. getAbstract recommends this article to anyone living with pain and others interested in a well-researched, well-written overview of cutting-edge pain science.
Summary
About the Author
John Walsh is a prolific journalist and published author. He has been editor of The Independent Magazine, literary editor of the Sunday Times and features editor of the London Evening Standard.
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