Pain in Women (PDF)

Women are affected by many chronic pain conditions in overwhelmingly greater numbers than are men. They are also at higher risk of disability due to pain in all age groups.   Addressing this problem with a comprehensive and practical examination of the problem, Pain in Women: A Clinical Guide is an important contribution to the literature on sex-based differences in illness and pain in particular.  Developed by a renowned group of experts in pain medicine, this practical, must-read title is designed not only to review the basics of the current understanding of the biological differences between the sexes when it comes to pain conditions, but also to provide clinicians in varying fields with a guide that helps elucidate the proposed neuroanatomical and neurophysiological mechanisms that are currently understood to underlie these differences.  This title reviews in detail the pain conditions commonly encountered in women, covering, for example, special considerations in certain populations of female patients with pain, including the female athlete, those who are pregnant, postpartum, experiencing menopause, and survivors of breast cancer.  A special chapter is dedicated to the issue of early life trauma and chronic pain.  Finally, an entire chapter is devoted to discussion of the role that physical therapy plays in the treatment of pelvic pain.  State-of-the-art and the definitive text on the topic,  Pain in Women: A Clinical Guide will increase the confidence of all clinicians treating women with pain disorders and will improve the treatment of pain in women at all life stages.