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HomeResources and SupportA-Z resourcesPain and chronic illness

Pain management

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Below you will find a variety of resources to help you better understand, cope with and/or support someone with a chronic illness.

Fact sheets

Acute pain management and opiods

Acute pain management non-opiods

Books 

Amanda's rainbow: young children's pain ages 2-10 / Hillstrom, Beverly. 

Port Moody, BC: Hillstrom Pub, 2002.

Amanda's Rainbow is an easy to use assessment tool that allows children to communicate their levels of pain to adults. The unique thing about this assessment tool is that it was created by a child for children.

Be the boss of your pain: self-care for kids / Culbert, Timothy. 

Minneapolis: Free Spirit Pub, 2007.

This book speaks to kids ages 8 and up with this message: Your body, mind, and spirit, working together, have amazing abilities to help you control how your body feels, even when you have pain.

A child in pain: how to help, what to do / Kuttner, Leora. 

Hartley & Marks, 1996.

The many methods and medications discussed in this book will enable you and your child to cope with both minor and more serious pain from injuries or childhood and teenage diseases.

Children with complex and continuing health needs: the experiences of children, families and care staff / Hewitt-Taylor, Jaqui.

London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2008.

Focusing on the real life experiences of children and their families, this book provides valuable insight into living with complex and continuing health needs. The author highlights the importance of seeing each child as an individual, with the same rights and needs as any other person, rather than defining them by their health condition. The book includes case studies to illustrate the experiences of children, parents, siblings and extended families, as well as professionals in health and social care.

Conquering your child's chronic pain: a pediatrician's guide to reclaiming a normal childhood / Zeltzer, Lonnie K. 

New York: HarperCollins, 2005.

Provides help for child or adolescent to regain power over pain and restore function and well-being. Covers many topics including reactivating the body's natural pain control, effective medications, and relaxation techniques.

Complex pain: what to do when pain won't go away [DVD] / BC Children's Hospital Foundation. 

Vancouver: BC Children's Hospital Foundation, 2008.

In this video, you will meet three teens who have become experts in mastering pain.  They will explain the impact that complex pain can have on families and on quality of life.

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) explained: for teenagers by teenagers / Lauder, G.R. and Massey, Roslyn.

Bloomington, Indiana: Xlibris Corporation, 2010

This book provides clear information for teenagers who develop Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). It can be used as a tool to aid the early recognition of CRPS and implement the necessary team approach to management. Medical terms have been explained in a way that can be easily understood.

Easy for you to say: Q & As for teens living with chronic illness or disability / Kaufman, Miriam. 

Toronto: Key Porter, 1995.

Answers many questions teens may have about their chronic illness or disability. Appropriate for Ages: 12-17 years

Grrrouch!: pain is like a grouchy bear / Morgan, Cathryn and Beshara, Crystal. 

Renfrew, ON: General Store Publishing House, 2011.

Told from a child's perspective, the tone of the story is calm and compassionate, yet whimsical too. The rhyming text is paired with vibrant illustrations by artist Crystal Beshara that are designed to echo emotions, to trigger discussion, and to emphasize how other children learn to cope with their pain. Appropriate for Ages: 6-10 years.

How it feels to fight for your life / Krementz, Jill. 

Boston: Little, Brown, 1989.

Fourteen children tell how they battle pain, uncertainty, and the changes brought about in their lives by serious illness such as cancer, severe burns, asthma, and kidney failure.

 Managing your child's chronic pain / Palermo, Tonya M.; Law, Emily F.

Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015.

Managing Your Child's Chronic Pain is an invaluable resource for parents who wish to learn how to help their children and families cope with persisting pain using cutting-edge, scientifically proven treatment tools and techniques. The easy to implement strategies in this book provides parents with practical instructions for pain management that will enable children to return to school, participate in sports and other activities, and pursue healthy and active social lives.

One family's story: learning to live with chronic pain / Waldman, Debby.

ECHO Research: 2017.

eBook

The “Learning to Live with Chronic Pain” eBook follows a teenager and her family’s experience with chronic pain, sharing the struggle to achieve daily activities and how the family learned to manage her pain.

Parenting children with health issues: essential tools, tips, and tactics for raising kids with chronic illness, medical conditions and special healthcare needs / Cline, Foster.

Golden, CO: Love & Logic Press, 2007.

Offers parents of children with chronic health issues, practical strategies and suggestions to help them cope with their child's condition and the constant physical and emotional challenges they face.

Relieve your child's chronic pain: a doctor's program to easing headaches, abdominal pain, fibromyalgia, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, and more / Krane, Elliot J.

New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.

This book will help the parent recognize, measure, and evaluate their child's pain properly; learn about the many alternative pain-management approaches that can be used at home and more.

 Sick all the time: kids with chronic illness / Chastain, Zachary.

Broomall, PA: Mason Crest Publishers, 2011.

Kids just want to be kids. They want to spend time with their friends and enjoy life. When a kid has a chronic illness, though, it can be a lot more difficult to do those things.

Soothing your child's pain: from teething and tummy aches to acute illnesses and injuries: how to understand the causes and ease the hurt / Gorfinkle, Kenneth.

Chicago: Contemporary, 1998.

This book contains practical information about coping with the everyday experience of pain in children.

Understanding living with a chronic illness / deLoache, Shawn; Renfrew, Ruth.

New York: Medikidz, 2018.

In graphic novel format, the Medikidz superheroes from the planet Mediland, help Sammy and Sasha understand chronic illness.

When your child hurts: effective strategies to increase comfort, reduce stress, and break the cycle of chronic pain / Coakley, Rachael. 

New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016.

Parents of a child in pain want nothing more than to offer immediate comfort. But a child with chronic or recurring pain requires much more. His or her parents need skills and strategies not only for increasing comfort but also for helping their child deal with an array of pain-related challenges, such as school disruption, sleep disturbance, and difficulties with peers. Written by an expert in pediatric pain management, this book is offers in-the-moment strategies for managing a child's pain along with expert advice for fostering long-term comfort.

Young people and chronic illness: true stories, help, and hope / Huegel, Kelly. 

Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Pub., 1998.

This book is a source of strength, inspiration, and sound advice for young people diagnosed with chronic illnesses. It helps them learn to cope, know they're not alone, and make the most of the wonderful opportunities that lie ahead.

Websites 

  • Pain – SickKids
  • Association québécoise de la douleur chronique
  • Caring for a Seriously Ill Child – Kids Health – For Kids, Teens and Parents from the Nemours Foundation
  • Living with a Chronic Illness or Disability – Healthy Children from the American Academy of Pediatrics
  • La douleur de l'enfant: la reconnaître, l'évaluer, la traiter – Pédiadol
  • Chronic Pain Association of Canada
  • PainBytes – Pain Management Network
  • Chronic Pain Australia

Apps 

Pain Squad
Free
Last updated Dec 2017
Available from iTunes

Videos

 

 Local contacts

Association québécoise de la douleur chronique

2030, boul. Pie-IX, bureau 403
Montréal, QC H1V 2C8
514-355-4198
855-230-4198
Fax: 514-355-4159
aqdc@douleurchronique.org

Disclaimer

These resources are for educational purposes only. If you have any questions, ask your health-care provider.

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