Healing Back Pain [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Dr. John E. Sarno M.D. (Author, Reader), Dr. John E. Sarno (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1999

Do you have back, neck, or shoulder pain that keeps recurring or won't go away? Does back pain keep you from living a full life? If so, you may be suffering from TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome)—and you don't have to take it anymore!
Dr. John E. Sarno is a medical pioneer whose mind-body approach has helped patients overcome their back conditions—without drugs or dangerous surgery. After indentifying stress and other psychological factors in back pain, he demonstrates how many of his patients have then gone on to heal themselves without exercise or other physical therapy. With case histories and the results of in-depth mind-body research, Dr. Sarno describes how patients recognize the emotional roots of their TMS and sever the connections between mental and physical pain.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

This best seller was first published in 1991, but no one ever bid for the audio rights. Now, Sarno will narrate his own work.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio; Abridged edition (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559275871
• ISBN-13: 978-1559275873
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 4.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (497 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,228,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #100 in Books > Books on Cassette > Health, Mind & Body > General

More About the Author

John E. Sarno, M.D., is Professor of Clinical Rehabilitation Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, and attending physician at the Howard A. Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, New York University Medical Center.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

180 of 187 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth a look., November 7, 2002

By 

2bluesky2 - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection (Paperback)

I think this book will be most helpful for people who have been suffering with back pain for a long period of time (months to years). Most back pain lasts only a short time, and if it persists, you probably either have a really serious medical problem (that is usually obvious) or there are psychological factors involved.

If you've been through the conventional medical system with your back pain for a long time with no satisfaction, have had many physical treatments (such as heat, massage, manipulation, etc.) with no relief, AND have had serious back pain issues ruled out, then I say it would be well worth your while to at least check out this book. While there are true physical causes of back pain that are not psychological, this book will make you think about any stress related issues that could be a part of your pain. Other self-help books I liked include Treat Your Own Spinal Stenosis. Good luck!

114 of 120 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still doing great after five years!, May 29, 2004

By 

Teresa Medeiros "New York Times Bestseller" (Kentucky) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection (Paperback)

I like to check in every now and then with my progress and I have to say that since reading this book and implementing its suggestions in 1999, I have been free of back pain for five years. I NEVER take it for granted. I biked 35 miles just today without so much as a twinge. I had suffered with back pain for ten years after being attacked by a combative patient at work (I was a psych nurse) so it was pretty much a miracle to stumble on Dr. Sarno's book and his theories. I'm an incredibly practical person who tends to pooh-pooh a lot of holistic medicine, but these theories are based on common sense. If I ever feel even a twinge of discomfort, usually re-reading the Prologue is enough to make me better. Thank you, Dr. Sarno, for changing my life!

107 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Start here...period, April 1, 2002

By 

David P. Ellis (Takoma Park, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection (Paperback)

If you're like me and thousands (millions?) of others who suffer from back pain and other ailments (e.g., sciatica, "tennis elbow", even frequent urination and skin rashes), this book is a literal lifesaver.

I first learned about Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS), the name Dr. Sarno gave to this condition, in 1999 when Dr. Sarno appeared on Larry King Live. At that time, I had been suffering from chronic low back pain for a decade. I first developed it my junior year in college and had back pain off and on since. Because I was a military officer at the time when it was most severe, I was afforded exceptional healthcare and offered every possible treatment at the U.S. government's expense. However, no amount of treatment - physical therapy, chiropractic care, exercising/stretching, acupuncture, etc. - could free me of my debilitating pain. That is, until I discovered Dr. Sarno's diagnosis.

By the time I read Dr. Sarno's book, I had every known type of imagery done to determine the root of my low back pain - MRI, CT, X-ray, etc. Still, nothing was conclusive, so once I learned through Dr. Sarno's book the pain could simply be a phyiscal reaction to emotional pain, the diagnosis made perfect sense to me and was easy to believe. Within days of reading the book, I was cured. Amazing.

Unfortunately, I still have bouts with TMS, sometimes severe bouts. As such, I continue to seek out a permanent cure for my problem. Dr. Sarno's book helped me put the pain in perspective and regain control of my life. However, it has not been able to rid me of TMS all together. He suggests psychotherapy if TMS persists, but I live in South Korea and do not have that as an option. Nonetheless, I am at least relieved to know I haven't caused any real injury to my back. I can thus go about my business and simply manage the pain as it arrives. Thank you, Dr. Sarno, thank you.

Incidentally, before I close, I should mention many people rave about Fred Amir's book "Rapid Recovery from Back Pain". I too have that book, but I have not found it that helpful (see my review). Regardless, whatever answers you seek beyond this book, don't do so until you've started here. Dr. Sarno's book is the foundation for any further help you may seek.

REVIEW UPDATE: 15 JANUARY 2004

I am writing to reaffirm how wonderful this book truly is. I am very happy to report I have had literally no back pain in nearly two years now. None. My treatment? Nothing other than reading Dr. Sarno's book. That's it. Please, folks, do yourself a favor. Give this book a try. I exaggerate not when I say that reading this paperback alone can free you of pain forever. I'm living proof.