{"product_id":"9789819250158","title":"Managing Pain is a Systems Problem How Medicine, Policy and Education Fail—and How They Can Do Better","description":"\u003ch1\u003eManaging Pain is a Systems Problem\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eHow Medicine, Policy and Education Fail—and How They Can Do Better\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eS Raj Sundaraj\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eMedical \/ Pain Management\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis book offers a clinically grounded and thought provoking examination of chronic pain as a complex disease of the nervous system rather than a simple symptom of tissue injury. Drawing on more than five decades of experience in anaesthesia and pain medicine, the book explains how neuroplastic and nociplastic changes can drive persistent pain, even after apparent healing. Building on the author’s earlier clinical work, it extends the discussion from individual treatment to broader systems of care.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eMoving beyond individual treatment approaches, Managing Pain is a Systems Problem - How Medicine, Policy and Education Fail—and How They Can Do Better explores how healthcare systems, policy frameworks, and compensation structures shape patient outcomes. It critically examines fragmented care, over medicalisation, procedural dependence, and medication-related harm, while highlighting how institutions can unintentionally contribute to long-term disability. Through detailed clinical narratives, the text reveals the human impact of these systemic failures and the importance of coordinated, multidisciplinary care.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eAt its core, the book advocates for a more integrated, humane model of pain management. It brings together clinical medicine, rehabilitation, psychology, ethics, and public health to provide practical guidance for clinicians, trainees, and decision-makers. Emphasizing functional restoration, patient education, and collaborative care, this volume calls for meaningful reform in how chronic pain is understood, treated, and supported across modern healthcare systems.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eProfessor S. Raj Sundaraj is a Pain Physician whose distinguished medical career spans more than five decades, including over forty years as an Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA)–accredited specialist in Pain Medicine. He began his professional career in anaesthesiology, practising for nearly a decade while actively translating emerging research in acute and post-operative pain into clinical care.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eOver time, surgical colleagues increasingly referred patients with severe and persistent pain—many of whom had no clear ongoing pathology or further surgical options. These clinical encounters highlighted the limitations of conventional models of care and shaped the direction of his professional life. Recognising the complexity of persistent pain, Professor Sundaraj pursued extensive further training and developed collaborations with leading international clinicians and researchers. This period marked the beginning of his long-standing commitment to multidisciplinary pain management at a time when the field was still emerging as a distinct specialty.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eProfessor Sundaraj subsequently established a multidisciplinary pain management centre within a major tertiary institution affiliated with the University of Sydney. The centre was later accredited by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and the Faculty of Pain Medicine as a recognised training facility for Pain Medicine Fellows, attracting trainees from Australia, New Zealand, and across parts of Asia. In parallel, he developed a coordinated private practice model that integrated anaesthesia, psychiatry, rehabilitation medicine, addiction medicine, nursing, and allied health services within a cohesive, team-based framework.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn recognition of his clinical leadership, teaching, and academic contributions, the University of Sydney conferred upon him the academic title of Associate Professor in Pain Medicine. Over a twelve-year period, he was regularly invited to conduct workshops, seminars, and educational programs across India, Malaysia, and Thailand, contributing to the growth of Pain Medicine as a distinct and necessary specialty. Through these engagements, he also highlighted the growing global burden of chronic pain and the importance of structured, multidisciplinary care.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eProfessor Sundaraj retired from clinical practice in 2023. He is also the author of Managing Pain: Understanding Chronic and Cancer Pain for Healthcare Providers and Patients, which has been accepted for publication. This current book draws upon the insights gained over decades of working with individuals living with chronic and complex pain, as well as with the families and clinicians who support them. It is intended as a practical and compassionate guide for patients and carers, and as a grounded resource for general practitioners, medical specialists, trainees, and allied health professionals.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eIn addition, this work speaks directly to those who shape the broader context of pain care—health administrators, regulators, insurers, educators, universities, and policymakers. Professor Sundaraj emphasises that meaningful and lasting improvements in pain outcomes depend not only on clinical expertise, but also on education, thoughtful systems design, and the ethical alignment of incentives with patient wellbeing.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003eThroughout his career, Professor Sundaraj has advocated for a fundamental shift in how chronic pain is understood and managed. He argues that chronic pain should be recognised and taught as a disease of the nervous system—distinct from acute pain—and approached with evidence-based care, compassion, realism, and coordinated long-term management. In this framework, chronic pain is neither an extension of acute pain nor merely a symptom, but a complex and evolving condition requiring dedicated, multidisciplinary care.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e09 October 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSpringer Nature Singapore\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSpringer\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9789819250158\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Springer Nature Singapore","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51562276225164,"sku":"9789819250158","price":89.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/lateknightbooks.com\/products\/9789819250158","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}