About this product: Pete Egoscue learned a lot about pain when, as a Marine officer, he was wounded in Vietnam. He segued from patient to physical therapist, and now runs a famous clinic in San Diego, where he claims he's helped 95 percent of his patients cure chronic pain--including Jack Nicklaus and Charles Barkley, whose athletic careers he helped prolong. At the heart of his program are stretches and motion exercises to restore proper function to muscles and joints. His methods are often surprising and counterintuitive. For example, for foot pain, he suggests a series of hip exercises. In fact, this is one of the most startling books you'll read about the human organism. Egoscue has strong opinions about how modern life is changing the way our bodies function, reducing the tasks we must perform and thus reducing the functional range of motion of our muscles and joints. Fortunately, he offers movement exercises to restore what nature meant us to have.
About this product: Healing Back Pain promises permanent elimination of back pain without drugs, surgery, or exercise. It should have been titled Understanding TMS Pain, because it discusses one particular cause of back pain--Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS)--and isn't really a program for self-treatment, with only five pages of action plan (and many more pages telling why conventional methods don't work). According to John E. Sarno, M.D., TMS is the major cause of pain in the back, neck, shoulders, buttocks, and limbs--and it is caused not by structural abnormalities but by the mind's effort to repress emotions. He's not saying that your pain is all in your head; rather, he's saying that the battle going on in your mind results in a real physical disorder that may affect muscles, nerves, tendons, or ligaments. An injury may have triggered the disorder, but is not the cause of the amount or intensity of the resulting pain. According to Sarno, the mind tricks you into not facing repressed emotion by making you focus on pain in the body. When this realization sinks in ("and it must sink in, for mere intellectual appreciation of the process is not enough"), the trick doesn't work any more, and there's no need for the pain. (Healing Back Pain should not be used for self-diagnosis. Always consult a physician for chronic or acute back pain.) --Joan Price
About this product: The Problem of Pain answers the universal question, "Why would an all-loving, all-knowing God allow people to experience pain and suffering?" Master Christian apologist C.S. Lewis asserts that pain is a problem because our finite, human minds selfishly believe that pain-free lives would prove that God loves us. In truth, by asking for this, we want God to love us less, not more than he does. "Love, in its own nature, demands the perfecting of the beloved; that the mere 'kindness' which tolerates anything except suffering in its object is, in that respect at the opposite pole from Love." In addressing "Divine Omnipotence," "Human Wickedness," "Human Pain," and "Heaven," Lewis succeeds in lifting the reader from his frame of reference by artfully capitulating these topics into a conversational tone, which makes his assertions easy to swallow and even easier to digest. Lewis is straightforward in aim as well as honest about his impediments, saying, "I am not arguing that pain is not painful. Pain hurts. I am only trying to show that the old Christian doctrine that being made perfect through suffering is not incredible. To prove it palatable is beyond my design." The mind is expanded, God is magnified, and the reader is reminded that he is not the center of the universe as Lewis carefully rolls through the dissertation that suffering is God's will in preparing the believer for heaven and for the full weight of glory that awaits him there. While many of us naively wish that God had designed a "less glorious and less arduous destiny" for his children, the fortune lies in Lewis's inclination to set us straight with his charming wit and pious mind. --Jill Heatherly
About this product: What causes chronic, debilitating back pain, one of the most common--and expensive to treat--ailments in the world? According to Robin McKenzie, a New Zealand physiotherapist for over 40 years and author of the wildly popular self-help manuals Treat Your Own Back and Treat Your Own Neck, distortion of the spinal disks--either from bad posture or injury--is the cause of the pain. The magic cure is the McKenzie Method--seven very specific exercises that allow the spine to return to its natural position. But forget the doctors--McKenzie asserts that the management of your back pain is your responsibility. Practice his seven unique exercises (the book includes seven each for the back and neck) consistently and at regular intervals and just about anyone can cure his or her own back or neck pain without the help of professionals. McKenzie believes self-treatment is actually more successful than medical interventions like surgery, chiropractic, or physical therapy, and indeed, recent research does show self-treatment to be a highly effective method.
More richly detailed and in-depth than his previous books, this volume is illustrated with over 100 photos and liberally peppered with real-life case histories. Starting with an analysis of how the back and neck work, it moves on to a discussion of the common causes of pain--bad posture is most often to blame. At the core is a detailed explanation of how to do the McKenzie Method exercises, when to apply them, and how to adjust your personal program over time. Included are instructions for people who suffer with acute back and neck pain (with appropriate cautions regarding when to call a medical professional) as well as for people in special situations like pregnant women, athletes, and seniors. An impassioned introduction by coauthor Craig Kubey, a satisfied convert after suffering intense back and neck pain as a result of several auto accidents, could very well make a believer out of anyone. --Marianne Painter
About this product: “Women today not only deserve but should expect a pain-free, active lifestyle, no matter their age, no matter their previous experience.”
Pain Free for Women
In his famed San Diego clinic, Pete Egoscue has taught women of all ages and from all walks of life how to use the Egoscue Method for safe, effective, and permanent relief from chronic pain without prescription painkillers, physical therapy, or invasive surgery. Now he shares his specially adapted “Pain Free” program for women to use at home.
Whether you suffer from back or neck pain, joint discomfort or sore knees, or need more stamina, improved balance, and extra strength, here is a revolutionary and proven approach to self-care that promises optimal health through a simple set of exercises that will transform the way you move and feel — forever!
Egoscue shows women how to take back their bodies by recovering and restoring a precious health asset — full, free, flexible motion — that he believes has been drastically reduced by our modern lifestyle.
As Egoscue explains, motion not only develops a woman’s body but also maintains and rejuvenates it. Yet as her motion-deprived muscles disengage and weaken, it is common for a woman’s body to lose alignment, leading to repetitive stress injuries, persistent pain, and general bad health. Even the simplest activities — how she sits, stands, walks, works, lifts, and sleeps — can trigger problems.
Focusing on proper alignment, posture, and muscle engagement, Egoscue provides simple but powerful techniques to restore flexibility and function while at the same time boosting energy, revving up the immune system, even raising the body’s metabolic rate.
The remarkable “E-cises” included within have also been linked to improved ability to fight disease, cope with aging, and recover from accidents and injuries. The “miracle” cure Egoscue offers is, simply, correct motion.
Organized by the seasons of a woman’s life, Pain Free for Women pays particular attention to age-specific concerns such as puberty, childbirth, and menopause, as well as special issues such as arthritis, PMS, and depression.
At the same time, Egoscue shows how women can build a framework of healthy movement that will prevent illness and maintain pain-free good health throughout the journey of life.
According to Egoscue, reversing the effects of poor musculoskeletal fitness provides astonishing benefits, including:
•Better balance, posture, and breathing, as well as increased resiliency •Effective and safe weight management •Healthy bone density and visual acuity •Heightened sex drive •Delayed symptoms of aging •Peace of mind and general tranquility
Extensively illustrated to demonstrate proper placement, posture, and movement, Pain Free for Women offers women of every age the possibility of feeling better than ever before.
About this product: In this riveting memoir, an ER doctor reveals how his high-stress career of helping others led to a struggle to save himself.
"It turns out there are all kinds of things about working in an ER that most of us haven't learned from TV or having sat in one. In Something for the Pain, Paul Austin—the ER doc you'd hope to get if something really bad happened—tells us, vividly and with uncommon candor, how, if you aren't careful, saving people's lives can make you sick."—Ted Conover, author of Newjack
In this eye-opening account of life in the ER, Paul Austin recalls how the daily grind of long, erratic shifts and endless hordes of patients with sad stories sent him down a path of bitterness and cynicism. His own life becomes Exhibit A, as he details the emotional detachment that estranges him from himself and his family. Gritty, powerful, and ultimately redemptive, Austin's memoir is a revealing glimpse into the fragility of compassion and sanity in the industrial setting of today's hospitals.
About this product: I think the book is based on solid theory, but it is very difficult to explain, even with numerous pictures, the proper postures in a book. This book is based on a hands-on class. It is like reading instructions on how to ride a bicycle.
About this product: Foods have special effects on pain, and research studies substantiate this, says Neal Barnard, M.D., in Foods That Fight Pain, a book endorsed by fellow doctors Dean Ornish and Andrew Weil. You can use foods to fight pain in these ways:
1. Choose pain-safe foods. Reduce inflammation by avoiding foods that may be causing or aggravating your pain.
2. Add soothing foods that ease pain. Different foods may improve blood flow, relieve inflammation, or balance hormones.
3. Use supplements if needed. Herbs, extracts, and vitamins can relieve pain.
Barnard explores a variety of medical conditions, such as migraines, arthritis, digestive problems, fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel syndrome, diabetes, herpes, sickle-cell anemia, kidney stones, urinary infections, and back, chest, breast, menstrual, and cancer pain. For each, Barnard explains the causes of the pain and what dietary changes are likely to alleviate it, with exercise and lifestyle recommendations. Barnard backs up his points with 30 pages of research citations.
Most of the recipes are quick to prepare, and include an elimination diet to avoid trigger foods. A nutritional breakdown (calories, fat, protein, carbohydrate, and sodium) accompanies each recipe. Following the advice in this book will not only relieve your pain, but increase your overall health. Highly recommended. --Joan Price
About this product: The first edition of this workbook is regarded as a classic in its field, and was the first book to introduce trigger point therapy to the general public as a self-care tool for alleviating chronic pain caused by a variety of conditions, including arthritis, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, headache, muscle ache, and repetitive strain injuries. As the author makes clear, all such conditions are related to lack of oxygen in exhausted or injured muscle tissue. Trigger point therapy has been used for decades by doctors, pain specialists, and massage therapists to quickly stimulate the flow of oxygen and promote rapid pain reduction. This book makes the same techniques available to the general public with instructions that are easy to follow, and abetted by an extensive collection of charts and corresponding illustrations.
The author’s interest in trigger point therapy began when he used it to successfully treat his frozen shoulder. Since that time, he has dedicated himself to teaching others the same techniques. That dedication is obvious throughout his writing and the care he takes to make the therapy understandable to the lay public. Also included in this new edition is updated information that should be of great interest to pain specialists and bodyworkers, as well as useful instruction in a variety of relaxation techniques. Overall, this book is an excellent self-care resource for anyone interested in pain relief.--Larry Trivieri Jr.
About this product: The original edition of this classic survival manual offered the first comprehensive patient guide for managing these conditions. Its extensive set of healing tools included targeted bodywork for painful trigger points and strategies to helpccope with chronic pain and sleep problems and the numbing effects of fibrofog. More than 75 percent of the second edition is new or updated material, including coverage of promising new research on the causes of fibromyalgia, evaluation of new treatments, complete discussions of special issues for women and men, and the latest information on medication. An update of the first edition's popular provider index helps sufferers select those practitioners who will take their complaints seriously and offer knowledgeable treatment advice.
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