Dr. John Sarno died on June 22, 2017, at the age of 93. He was a physician who observed that much pain was psychosomatic in origin. As American medicine has largely rejected the idea that feelings can cause sensations in the body, he was ostracized by the
profession. Happily, his books –
including Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection – reached millions of people
in many countries and helped them heal themselves.
“All the Rage,” a documentary about his work collectively
directed by Michael Galinsky, Suky Hawley, and David Beilinson, has just been
released by RUMUR. It arrives at a
moment when the medically preferred method of pain treatment has triggered an
epidemic of opioid addiction that is estimated to have taken 59,000 lives in 2016 alone.
It is time for humility.
As physicians, we swore the Hippocratic Oath, to “first do no harm.” It
seems to me a reasonable corollary when we have done harm is “to admit harm and change course.”
But, some will say, Dr. Sarno’s ideas are not supported by
data. That is a red herring. The data about opioids have not been as
thorough as one might presume, especially given the frequency with which they’ve
been prescribed. Indeed, one widely
cited study of the safety of opioids for pain turns out to be a letter to the
editor published in a medical journal, not the hallowed randomized controlled
clinical trial one would have expected. At
this point, new findings are emerging every week, shedding light on the ways in
which opioids work to produce dependence and addiction. The evolving story
suggests we must use these drugs with great caution.
By contrast, there is more than enough data about the reality of the mind-body connection and the effectiveness
and safety of the mind-body interventions for us to move forward with
confidence. However, as is often the
case, sound “data” are ignored. This has
been true for a long time: scientific breakthroughs are resisted for reasons
that have nothing to do with the soundness of the intervention. The British Navy, for example, ignored for 50
years the advice that limes could prevent scurvy among seamen. Many suffered unnecessary death and
disability during that period.
The opioid epidemic offers a remarkable opportunity to go in
a new direction in the treatment of pain and in the embrace of the mind-body
connection. State legislatures are busy
restricting opioid prescribing. Change
must happen, but what? What a perfect
moment to go see “All the Rage,” pick up one of Dr. Sarno’s books, and try a
new prescription!
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