Customer Reviews

Backache: What Exercises Work

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've tried them all. Every threapy you can think of. Was about to give up and submit to surgery. Got a book club catalog in the mail that included this book. Decided to try once more. One of he best decisions of my life. I could not do one situp or push at the time . . . without back pain. I do 75 pushs a day and hundreds of what the book recommeds for addominal work. Do yourself a favor and get this book. Follow the instructions explicitly. Good luck.

I have recommend these exercises to patients, but more importantly, they can benefit anyone who doesn't want to develop back pain in the future. Unfortunately our medical model is one of treatment and not prevention. I agree with another reviewer that consultation with a qualified physician is recommended for any type of chronic severe back pain, but there are very few cases I have seen, including patients who have failed surgical treatment, who have not been helped by some way in using moderate regular exercise. These are great exercises to reverse the effects that our sedentary working society foists upon us. I recommend this book strongly but emphasize the importance of dispensing with the "pain-gain" concept and embracing the a-little-bit-every-day-in-a-consistent-manner-without-pushing-to-discomfort paradigm. Kudos to Dava Sobel and colleagues for an excellent write...May I recommend "The Care and Feeding of Your Brain" as a companion book for helping deal the distress, depression, and other cerebral manifestations that accompany chronic pain...All the best!! Kenneth Giuffre MD, author, "The Care and Feeding of Your Brain"

I have struggled for years with acute back pain. Reading Sobel & Klein's book gave me the answers I was looking for. After getting X-Rays and an MRI revealing that 4 of my discs were herniated from one degree to another. I made an appointment with a trained physical therapist and we set to work on a plan of stretching & strengthening the key muscles. Bingo! I have never felt better. M.D., Mary Pullig Schatz's "Back Care Basics" is excellent as well with an emphasis on Yoga the mental approach for successful rehabilitation.

I agree with the authors in the book that in most cases exercise is the best treatment for back and neck pain. The exercises they recommend are also commonly used in physical therapy, so are probably effective.

However, the book does not talk at all about disorders of the spine, and what contributes to back pain. (such as: funtional or anatomical leg length difference, pronated feet, misaligned knees, rounded shoulders, swayback, or flatback) Without an understanding of contributing factors, the exercises may do you no good whatsoever. (As an example, I was having only moderate success with exercise until I also worked on leg length and foot pronation issues.)

This book was a god-send to my family, for both my mother and husband have recently been suffering from back pain.

The "magic bullet" for back pain is to exercise. The authors argue that to cure and prevent future back pain, we should all exercise our abdominal muscles every day.

The exercises they suggest, which are tailor-made for every condition, are very easy to do, even for those of us who are not very active. The easiest one for most of us, is to lie on the floor with your knees drawn up and lift your pelvis towards the ceiling. (This is called the "bridge pose" in yoga). But if you are reading this, and thinking to yourself "I could never do that", the authors have even simpler exercises, including those that you can do while lying in bed.

For fit and active people, the best way to prevent back pain is to do yoga, ballet, belly-dancing or pilates; in fact any kind of exercise that gets you to tone your abdominals. As you can see from this list, there are lots of fun ways to prevent back pain!

This book is a must-read for those of us who are suffering, and I highly recommend it.

Picked this book up with a few other to gain more information on my on and off again back problems. You know how it is if you are thinking of getting this type of book. You went to all the doctors in your town and tried all the exercises they give you to do on the floor. I even spent thousands on massage therapy, a that helped for a while. But every time I went to exercise my back would hurt again. Well this is the year, I am not getting any younger, so I bought a collection of books over the last month and this is one of them i recommend for people who are tired of thier pain and want to do something about it. The other books are on exercises that have helped me very much and I am not running out of exercises to do.Good luck, hope this helps

If you need to start somewhere then this book will help you to exercise away your pain. If you already workout then this book will not give you the type of workout to improve your condition. This was given to me as a gift and I did pick up a few good pointers.

I was pleased to find this book at the library. It's well-organized and easy to read. The authors provide clear guidelines for incorporating therapeutic exercise into your life. The exercises described are safe and simple for most people to perform. As always... consult your doctor first! :-)

If you are looking for a DVD that offers exercises similar to this book, I would recommend the following Stott Pilates DVDs. They are VERY GENTLE!!
STOTT PILATES: Be Kind to Your Spine (1st DVD in a 3-part series)
Stott Pilates: Be Kind to Your Spine, Level 1 (older version... cheap used copies easily available)

Peace!

The best book I've ever used for back pain and recovery. Highly recommended!
The gentle exercises he gives for getting started when you're in great pain and don't know if you'll ever get better are a life line in time of need. I've lent this book out many time to friends.

I am very happy with this book and with the seller who mailed it to me very promptly. I have had back trouble for many years and this book is very informative both on the medical viewpoint and the exercises. I was aware of most of the exercises from my time in a yoga classes I have taken.