Back Pain: How to Relieve Low Back Pain and Sciatica [Paperback]

Carol Ardman (Author), Loren Fishman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 1999

"This book is by far the best one I have read about back pain...a user-friendly, positive, helpful book on back pain that I will certainly recommend to all my patients."--C. B. Lewis, Ph.D.

Dr. Loren Fishman, a distinguished clinician and a trailblazer in the treatment of sciatica, believes there's only one road to relief: patients must become partners with their doctors in naming the cause of their pain and in making treatment decisions. Based on the latest research and on Dr. Fishman's fifteen years of experience in treating patients successfully, Back Pain is filled with pain-saving advice and instructional facts: so many adults suffer bouts of back pain that many doctors consider them normal occurrences; like a cold or flu more than four days of bed rest can make a back ache worse; patients who choose chiropractors visit them twice as often as those who choose medical doctors more than 25 percent of people who go to orthopedic surgeons have referred themselves; the initial treatment any doctor is likely to prescribe is aspirin; sciatica is one of the three major causes of back pain.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Back Pain is the most thorough, practical, and helpful guide for patients with back pain. -- John Merritt, M.D., Medical College of Wisconsin

This book is by far the best one I have read about back pain . . . a user-friendly, positive, helpful book on back pain that I will certainly recommend to all my patients. -- C. B. Lewis, Ph.D.

From the Author

This book educates sufferers to bring about their own cure. Rapid technological change and managed care make it hard to figure out what care you need, and very hard to get it. Knowing more about your back's structure and function enables you to determine, seek and participate in the care you need. This book carefully explains many doctors' diagnostic methods that intelligent laymen can apply to their own situations. There are large, illustrated sections on what individuals with low back pain can do safely on their own behalf without professional help. But also, the book is intended to teach intelligent non-physicians enough to know when they need professional help, whom they should seek, how to work with the expert, and what to do if that fails.--Loren M. Fishman, M.D.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (November 17, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039331961X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393319613
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #44 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Aging > Back Pain

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific Book!, June 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Back Pain: How to Relieve Low Back Pain and Sciatica (Paperback)

This is a great book for back pain sufferers. There is lots of information about the mechanics of backs, as well as the various reasons why they hurt. Some very good information on sciatica. There are chapters on numbness, weakness and an entire chapter on pain, and ways to manage it, including trigger point injections of lidocaine(which I ended up having and have found very helpful). The book also covers ways to reduce stress, including yoga, tai chi, exercise, and other ways to prevent back pain from recurring.Dr. Fishman also gives advice on how to talk to your doctor and what information is especially important for your doctor to have. This has been one of the very BEST books I've read on back pain. As a companion book, I'd suggest "Back Care Basics" by M. Schatz which describes a gentle yoga program for back pain sufferers. Both books have helped me so much!

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for Lower Back Pain Sufferers!, July 7, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Back Pain: How to Relieve Low Back Pain and Sciatica (Paperback)

I am 23, have had a diagnosed disc herniation for 6 years, and am in the middle of deciding on surgery or not. This book has been invaluable in helping me understand my condition, and determine what I should do. It covers Eastern and Western methods, and is written in an understandable, and easily readable manner. In fact, I bought it yesterday, and am half way through. Back problems are stressful enough, this book will help you with some of that stress.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best Lower Back Pain Diagnosis Tools Available, January 16, 2002

By 

"sisungla" (Gretna, LA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back Pain: How to Relieve Low Back Pain and Sciatica (Paperback)

After 5 days of journaling my lower back pain signs and symptoms - I was able to use this book and diagnose my back injury as Spinal Stenosis - Due to a major disc herniated at the L4-L5 inside the vertebral canal. For me the diagnosis was not good - immediate surgery, but as I tore through this book with ease, cover to cover within a 24hr period, I can see how this book is a must buy for those who have back problems several times a year and have not diagnosed the true underlying cause of the pain.

The authors are firm believers in a Doctor/Patient team approach with the patient responsible for aiding the doctor with the proper descriptions in order to truly diagnose the underlying cause of the pain. Using a step by step approach - the author gives the reader a true down to earth understanding of how all the bones, muscles, nerves, tendons, ligaments, disc and connective tissue affecting the lower back work together.

They teach the real difference between symptoms and signs, there-by giving the reader an excellent understanding on how to describe and classify the feelings and pain. They also describe all MD specialist that deal with lower backs to aid you on who might be best fit to help in your diagnosis. They even wiz you by non traditional methods.

Only when you ID the true root cause of the pain - can you begin the road to recovery. With the easy to follow muscle information and nerve charts and an unbelievable amount of excellent symptoms and sign diagnosis aids, I am 100% sold on this book. I am back buying 5 copies just to give out to family and friends that I know suffer through annual rituals of severe back pain and have not had success in really understanding the root cause.