It Doesn't Have to Hurt: Your Smart Guide to a Pain-Free Life
by Sanjay Gupta
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Transform your everyday life by reducing and eliminating chronic pain with the latest science-backed pain relief techniques and expert practical advice from America's bestselling doctor and neurosurgeon Sanjay Gupta.
Are you one of the 52 million people who experience chronic pain in your day-to-day life? In It Doesn't Have to Hurt, Sanjay Gupta makes the empowering argument that there are effective options for relief that you can start practicing today to greatly reduce your chances of suffering pain tomorrow.
The significance of reducing and even eliminating pain cannot be overstated. Gupta shows how pain carries an enormous amount of physical, social, and emotional baggage, which is, in part, why it has been so hard to treat, and too often ignored. It can also present in infinite ways. Yet both patients and practitioners labor under the mistaken idea that most pain problems can be fixed with a drug or procedure. It turns out we have tremendous agency in choosing how we'll respond. The brain "creates" pain, but it also has the capacity to reduce or even eliminate it. There is more evidence than ever about the benefits of sleep, diet and nutrition, mindfulness-based pain management (MBPM), myofascial and other hands-on treatments, as well as yoga, specialized psychotherapies, and even social "prescriptions"--prompting more doctors than ever to focus on these solutions.
Gupta runs the gamut of conventional and complementary approaches, including the technique known as Mobilization Exercise Analgesia Treatment, foam rolling, acupuncture, trigger point injections, and vital "prehabilitation" before any operation. He shares how to make sense of all those over-the-counter pills, patches, and pain products, as well as drugs advertised on television or prescribed by your doctors. He covers psychedelics, supplements, and CBD. And he highlights insights from some of the nation's leading pain scientists and specialists, plus stories of challenge and triumph over pain by those with lived experience.
Gupta sorts through them all with his pain-smart guide to a pain-smart life.
With expert guidance and a wealth of science-backed strategies, It Doesn't Have to Hurt is your ultimate resource for reclaiming your life from chronic pain and unlocking a future of lasting relief--starting today.
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Book Details
- ISBN
- 1668014475
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Authors
- Sanjay Gupta
- Publisher
- Simon & Schuster
- Published Date
- September 2, 2025
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 368
- Physical Info
- 1.26 in H x 9.13 in L x 6.22 in W (1.1 lb)
Fast delivery and am looking forward to reading. I have always admired Dr Gupta’s dedication to honest scientific assessment. Will update review after reading.
Good information so far
Awesome 👌
It's a good read. More technical than I'm used to so slow reading but great advice.
Great book
- 5 stars: 18 (90%)
- 4 stars: 2 (10%)
- 3 stars: 0 (0%)
- 2 stars: 0 (0%)
- 1 star: 0 (0%)
Fast delivery and am looking forward to reading. I have always admired Dr Gupta’s dedication to honest scientific assessment. Will update review after reading.
Good information so far
Awesome 👌
Great book
It's a good read. More technical than I'm used to so slow reading but great advice.
A lot of good advice. I gave this book to a friend who has scleroderma and hurts everywhere. The advice inthis book really helped her. It is a lot better than taking yet another pain pill! My friend is even getting in someneeded exercise now.
Wonderful book
For those of us who work with patients with chronic pain, this is a must read. Simple and straight forward. Everything is not going to work all of the time but there are enough ways to get a handle on pain that anyone who is dealing with this will welcome even a ten percent improvement is better than nothing. My guess it that most chronic pain patients will find enough relief to make this book well worth the price.
It is ok
Wonderful book, easy to read and full of good ideas. I first read the audio version but wanted this print copy to highlight passages I want to refer to later.
Good book
Well done, very honest and thoughtful
As a chronic pain survivor(I am still alive), this book is so significant for people like me. It has so much information about how to live the most quality life and dealing with pain. Some information is new as far as treatment. Some information is something I tried and gave up doing. The books has gave me a new look at old possibilities for treatment. Very well written book. I purchased 2 books, one to share with others because the information is very helpful.
Informative, well written, with lots of suggestions about how to address pain. Thanks
I love Dr. Gupta. It was easy to read and understand! Very thought provoking. It has made me take a new look at my pain and understand it on another level. I have been trying a few recommendations from the book and feel they have helped and will continue to help me find new ways to deal with my pain.
As usual, Dr. Gupta gives the reader easy to understand and helpful suggestions for moving forward to a healthy life. And this time, pain-free.
I’m only for through the first few chapters, but Dr. Gupta has my complete respect and admiration. I trust him to shoot straight from the hip and I trust his knowledge and his professional competence.
I’ve had chronic pain managed with a pain pump but still experience pain at 7-9 level. This is a great reminder of what I should be doing and what is new in pain management! Well worth it despite me thinking I knew it all. 🤷♀️
I have not read the entire book yet, but the introduction and the starting pages of the book have been very informative and useful. I have a fair knowledge of the human body end of medical procedures.however, this expanded my knowledge of certain new procedures that can help people. When I finish reading it, it will be a reference book in my personal library.
Largely anecdotal, trendy, and condescending but interlaced with enough scientificy medical lore to navigate within the edges of plausibility, this optimistic book provides abundant advice and hope for those suffering from chronic pain. It wouldn't hurt to give this book a try. At the very least the more knowledge you gain about chronic pain and reasonable treatment strategies, the better your chances will be to make good decisions that will result in lasting improvement. One thing you can count on is Sanjay Gupta, MD, is the real deal and really has done his best to provide the smartest and most reliable guide you can find to move toward a pain free life. Buy his book now and let Dr Gupta help you find your way between the often hidebound and greedy world of the medical profession and the chaos of gurus, scammers, and all the earnest fools with advice for pain relief. Is Sanjay Gupta the Malcom Gladwell of pain management or just another Dr Oz or Deepak Chopra? Buy this book and decide for yourself.
