The Back Book

Eighty percent of Americans experience back pain in varying degrees at some point in their lives. In fact, back pain is second only to the common cold as a reason why people visit a doctor. In The Back Book, Johns Hopkins surgeons Ziya L. Gokaslan and Lee Hunter Riley explain the causes and complexities of back pain and the various paths to diagnosis and treatment. Stressing the importance of individualized treatment, they discuss the process of establishing a treatment plan that is acceptable to the person with pain as well as to the attending physician. They also: • lay out reasonable expectations for surgical and nonsurgical treatment • illuminate the possibilities, risks, and limitations of back surgery • describe how to select a surgeon and the importance of choosing the right one Informative and reassuring, The Back Book provides readers with the knowledge they need to understand their back pain and get started on the route to relief.

This is the second edition of the booklet which contains practical advice on how to deal with back problems and stay active. It is based on the latest research and the information has been shown to be effective in clinical trials. It is suitable for anyone suffering back pain, and doctors or therapists can use it to help patients cope with early management of symptoms. It is linked with the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine guidelines for coping with back pain. The publication is also available in packs of 10 copies (ISBN 0117029505), as well as a video based on the booklet (Get back active, ISBN 0117029408).

"This easy to follow patient handbook provides the reader with an active self-treatment plan to resolve and manage back pain. First published in 1980, Treat Your Own Back has featured in many studies, which over the years have proven its benefits and validity. Study results show that exercises taken from Treat Your Own Back can decrease back pain within a week, and in some cases actually prevent back pain. Long term results include reduced pain episodes and decreased severity of pain."--Back cover.

A teacher and public-television personality outlines a program of exercises and other strategies for alleviating and eliminating forms of lower-back pain

Dr. John E. Sarno's groundbreaking research on TMS (Tension Myoneural Syndrome) reveals how stress and other psychological factors can cause back pain-and how you can be pain free without drugs, exercise, or surgery. Dr. Sarno's program has helped thousands of patients find relief from chronic back conditions. In this New York Times bestseller, Dr. Sarno teaches you how to identify stress and other psychological factors that cause back pain and demonstrates how to heal yourself--without drugs, surgery or exercise. Find out: Why self-motivated and successful people are prone to Tension Myoneural Syndrome (TMS) How anxiety and repressed anger trigger muscle spasms How people condition themselves to accept back pain as inevitable With case histories and the results of in-depth mind-body research, Dr. Sarno reveals how you can recognize the emotional roots of your TMS and sever the connections between mental and physical pain...and start recovering from back pain today.

In 'The Back Pain Book', physical therapist Mike Hage shows readers how to take control of back problems through self-treatment. Instead of addressing specific medical diagnoses, medications, surgery, or nutritional adjustments, Hage gives advice on how to use posture and movement to ease, relieve, and prevent your pain.

Describes a method of reducing pain and back injury that has been used by celebrities, Olympic medalists, and other sport figures.

With a fresh approach to a common problem, this self-help guide to overcoming back pain advocates adopting the natural, healthy posture of athletes, young children, and people from traditional societies the world over. Arguing that most of what our culture has taught us about posture is misguided—even unhealthy—and exploring the current epidemic of back pain, many of the commonly cited reasons for the degeneration of spinal discs and the stress on muscles that leads to back pain are examined and debunked. The historical and anthropological roots of poor posture in Western cultures are studied as is the absence of back pain complaints in the cultures of Africa, Asia, South America, and rural Europe. Eight detailed chapters provide illustrated step-by-step instructions for making simple, powerful changes to seated, standing, and sleeping positions. No special equipment or exercise is required, and effects are often immediate.

On occasion nearly everyone experiences short-term back pain from sore or strained muscles. But for many who come to treat their back gingerly because they fear further "injury," a cycle of worry and inactivity results; this aggravates existing muscle tightness and leads them to think of themselves as having a "bad back." Even worse is the understandable but usually counterproductive assumption that back pain is caused by "abnormalities"–bulging disks, a damaged spine, and so on. However, these abnormalities are frequently found in those who have absolutely no pain whatsoever. In reality, most backs are strong and resilient, built to support our bodies for a lifetime; truly "bad backs" are rare. Drawing on their work with patients and studies from major scientific journals and corporations, the authors of Back Sense–all three are former chronic back pain sufferers themselves–developed a revolutionary self-treatment approach targeting the true causes of chronic back pain. It is based on conclusive evidence proving that stress and inactivity are usually the prime offenders, and it allows patients to avoid the restrictions and expense of most other treatments. After showing readers how to rule out the possibility that a rare medical condition is the source of their problem, Back Sense clearly and convincingly explains the actual factors behind chronic back pain and systematically leads readers toward recapturing a life free of back pain.

This second edition of 'Low Back Disorders' provides research information on low back problems and shows readers how to interpret the data for clinical applications.