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Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain [Kindle Edition]

Dr Ronald D. Siegel , Michael Urdang , Douglas R. Dr Johnson
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

Print List Price: $13.95
Kindle Price: $11.99 includes free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: $1.96 (14%)
Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
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Book Description

Understand your back pain in a whole new way and break the cycle forever.

Back pain is a serious problem, disabling over 5 million Americans and costing society $20 to $50 billion annually. Until recently both doctors and patients have misunderstood its true causes and have unwittingly fostered the pain cycle. Back Sense is the groundbreaking book that promises to change the way we approach the problem by proving that almost all chronic back pain is caused by stress and muscle tension, rather than by damage to the spine.

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, which actually increases muscle tightness and leads them to think of themselves as having a "bad back." In reality, most backs are strong and resilient--built to support our bodies for a lifetime. Contrary to popular belief, truly "bad backs" are extremely rare.

While seemingly abnormal disks and other parts of the back are, in fact, often present in those who suffer chronic back pain, they are also frequently found in those who have absolutely no pain whatsoever. Back Sense uses the latest scientific research to discredit the perfectly understandable, but counterproductive assumption that back pain is caused by these "abnormalities." Drawing on their work with patients and studies from major scientific journals and corporations such as Boeing, the authors have amassed conclusive evidence proving that stress and inactivity are actually to blame. Since conventional treatments of back problems encourage excessive caution, most sufferers get trapped in a vicious cycle in which concern about pain and physical limitations leads to heightened tension, more pain, and further distress.

The authors of Back Sense--all three are former chronic back pain sufferers themselves--have developed a revolutionary self-treatment approach that works. 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 how chronic back pain results from other factors. Building on this idea, the book systematically leads readers toward recapturing a life free of back pain.


From the Hardcover edition.


Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

About 50 million Americans suffer back pain every year, and chronic back pain disables 1 in 40 adults. Back Sense takes a different approach, contending that most chronic back pain is caused not by a damaged spine, but by stress, muscle tension, and inactivity. The aim is to help you reclaim your life and decrease your pain.

The spine might be damaged initially, but it usually heals on its own, the authors assert. After that, stress causes muscle tightness, which results in continued pain. Traditional treatments don't work because they treat the spine, not the stress. The solution: understand your own symptoms and pain, learn to resume full activity, and work with your negative emotions to prevent them from derailing your recuperation.

Part 1 of Back Sense helps you evaluate your own case and determine whether you have warning signs of a serious injury or disease (in which case you must get medical attention), understand the mind-body connection, and examine how stress may be causing your chronic pain. Part 2 teaches you how to bring full physical activity back into your life and manage your negative emotions.

The authors--two of whom relieved chronic back pain with this very program--do not want you to baby your body or limit your life to protect your back. Rather, they contend that "being careful actually appears to be harmful." They explain that "as long as you are trying to get rid of pain, you stay preoccupied with it," creating more tension, and by avoiding "risky" movements, you lose muscle conditioning, making you vulnerable to additional injury. The book takes you through a process of gradually incorporating more exercise and tracking your reactions. The style is simple and friendly, and the book has many plan charts, logs, and other helpful tools. --Joan Price

From Publishers Weekly

Both clinical psychologist Ronald D. Siegel and market research consultant Michael H. Urdang have suffered from chronic back pain. They learned to treat their pain by using a new system of integrative medicine (a combination of East and West) and by staying physically active. In Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain, Siegel and Urdang team up with physician Douglas R. Johnson, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation, to dispel misunderstandings by both sufferers and medical practitioners about the cause and treatment of back pain, based on their extensive research and success in treating thousands of patients. Agent, Ira Silverberg, Donadio & Olson.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


Product Details


Customer Reviews

I recommend this book for anyone who has ever suffered from neck or back related pain. Peter H Hames  |  7 reviewers made a similar statement
I am stronger, healthier and happier and it started with this book. TSP  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars This book makes Sense of the pain. Try it! October 26, 2001
Format:Hardcover
I have had mild to moderate, with occasional severe, back pain for many years. Generally, the pain started when I was in graduate school. I thought that the long hours of sitting in class, reading and studying was damaging my "weak" back.

After reading this book, I started to realize how much stress was a major factor in my back pain. Just before I read the book I was visiting my chiropractor every week and getting a massage a couple times a month. I loved the treatments, but I was getting increasingly concerned that I had a serious problem with my back that was going to disable me, sooner, rather than later.

After finishing Backsense, I have stopped stressing about every twinge, tight muscle or pain in my back---and the pain has been much less and less frequent! I now enjoy my gym activities and play time with my children, knowing that my back is strong and healthy.

Backsense gave me a better understanding and confidence in the strength and durability of my back. It was easy to read and understand. Anyone searching for relief from back pain should read this book.

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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars I urge you to read this book September 26, 2001
Format:Hardcover
I was a skeptic. After many years of spending thousands of dollars and countless hours with medical doctors and chiropractors, I could not believe that changing the way I thought about my pain could help me conquer the crippling spasms that had wracked my life for nearly 20 years. I had tried special exercises, surgical consults, CAT scans, and powerful medications- nothing could take away those episodes that left me in agony, tilting to one side as if severely wounded. These spasms attacked me repeatedly, leaving me incapacitated for weeks and months.

What I discovered through the Back Sense approach, was that the cure lay in three areas: The first, and most important, is the awareness that I should not fear the pain as something that was about to cripple me as it had done in the past. Nor should I react by favoring my back or avoiding normal activities that I worried might have strained it in the past. Finally, root causes of the pain invariably were in how I managed my own feelings, especially stress, worry, and sometimes anger.

I am now free of spasms, and no longer worry about my back. I urge you to read this book.

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30 of 33 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars This book gave me "my life" back again! January 14, 2002
Format:Hardcover
After a fall, I suffered from chronic leg pain for a period of 20 months before finding this book. For 20 months I spent countless hours seeing doctors, physical therapists, chiropractors, message therapists, and other health practitioners, including acupuncture. I was desperate to get well. I had made progress, but I still felt it very difficult to walk or move normally--I was still in essence "crippled," and I feared my life might never been normal again. Then I found this remarkable book. In the period of time it took me to read the first few chapters, I knew what the authors were suggesting would work for me. I was able to immediately implement the principles. I got up from where I was reading and began to walk completely normally for the first time in over a year and a half. Soon thereafter, I found myself bounding up stairs and skipping with joy. Three months later, I'm still doing great. I'm so happy to be "Free At Last!" If you suffer from chronic back, neck, or leg pain, I urge you to read this book. It may not have the same effect on you, but you have nothing to lose but your pain!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book on "Backs" you can buy
I had a severe back problem years ago (and for years) that totally debilitated me. This book literally changed my life. Read more
Published 4 months ago by A Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Enlightened
I have been suffering from back pain since 2009 due to a car collision.

After going to doctors and having MRI's and Xrays I was told I had damaged spine and what I used... Read more
Published 7 months ago by O. Moreno
1.0 out of 5 stars Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic...
While the primary concept of stress and muscle tension being the underlying cause of almost ALL chronic back pain may sound sensible to some, those who suffer from chronic back... Read more
Published 17 months ago by S. Porter
5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging and helpful during a hard time
I suffered the worst back injury of my life in early 2003. I saw all sorts of doctors, chiropractors, massage therapists, physical therapists, etc. Read more
Published on April 23, 2011 by Cory
5.0 out of 5 stars Another Viewpoint About Back Pain
Great book telling an alternative tale. What I got out of this book, and what it's meant for my chronic back pain. Read more
Published on April 1, 2011 by robert
5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding pain and managing it
Pain is debilitating and chronic pain zaps energy. All the focus is on the pain and a person reaches out for as many professionals as possible who would be the experts in getting... Read more
Published on March 17, 2011 by Lorraine Corne
3.0 out of 5 stars It's already been done
This theory had already been proposed at least 10 years earlier by Dr. John Sarno in Healing Back Pain Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection and later expanded upon in The... Read more
Published on September 23, 2010 by Steven Jaffe
5.0 out of 5 stars Saved me
Helped me to realise that even though my back pain was real, it wasn't a physical issue that had to be healed, but emotional. Read more
Published on August 29, 2010 by TSP
5.0 out of 5 stars I give this to friends with back pain
I have scoliosis - not severe enough for surgery, but bad enough to cause me pain. No book, doctor or chiropractor has helped me nearly as much as this book. Highly recommended.
Published on September 14, 2008 by WaterSheep
5.0 out of 5 stars Changed my life!
After going to a conference on Psychotherapy and Mindfulness given by Dr. Ron Siegel, I was inspired to get his book. Read more
Published on July 26, 2006 by Dr. Bonnie Zucker
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More About the Author

Ronald D. Siegel, Psy.D., is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School, where he has taught for over 25 years. He is a longtime student of mindfulness meditation and serves on the Board of Directors and faculty of the Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy. He teaches internationally about mindfulness and psychotherapy and mind/body treatment, has worked for many years in community mental health with inner city children and families, and maintains a private clinical practice in Lincoln, Massachusetts. Dr. Siegel is coauthor of the self-treatment guide Back Sense, which integrates Western and Eastern approaches for treating chronic back pain, coeditor of the critically acclaimed book for professionals, Mindfulness and Psychotherapy, author of the recent step-by-step, comprehensive guide for general audiences, The Mindfulness Solution: Everyday Practices for Everyday Problems, and coeditor of the new professional volume, Wisdom and Compassion in Psychotherapy: Deepening Mindfulness in Clinical Practice.



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