Customer Reviews

The Neck Pain Handbook: Your Guide in Understanding and Treating Neck Pain (A DiaMedica Guide to Optimum Wellness)

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I received an advance review copy of THE NECK PAIN HANDBOOK through Library Thing's Early Reviewer program. At thirty years of age, I've suffered from mild to moderate neck and back pain for about ten years. I attribute the pain to a number of causes, including PMS, long hours spent working in front of the computer, poor posture, stress, and less-than-optimal sleeping conditions. (I'm a guardian to five dogs, three of which like to hem me in under the covers at night. Consequently, my back pain is usually at its worst during the first hour of my day.) Exercise, especially yoga, has helped some, but neck, shoulder and back pain is still an occasional inconvenience. Thus, I was hoping that MDs Grant Cooper and Alex Visco might be able to offer some additional advice for alleviating my neck pain symptoms.

THE NECK PAIN HANDBOOK is a nice introduction to the topic of neck pain. Cooper and Visco begin the discussion by outlining the structure and function of the human neck, so that the reader might gain an appreciation of her neck's complex makeup. They then shift focus to the many causes of neck pain, some of which are preventable. They discuss proper posture, and offer ten at-home exercises the reader can employ in order to prevent and/or alleviate neck pain. The authors also discuss more radical treatments for neck pain, including cervical collars (of which they are not big fans), advanced imaging studies, trigger point injections, Botox, topical pain relievers, analgesics, anti-inflammatories, muscle relaxants, x-ray guided injections and surgery. They also briefly touch upon "alternative" treatments, such as glucosamine/chondroitin supplements (which I give to my two oldest furkids in order to ward off joint paint - a precaution actually recommended by my conservative, small town veterinarian), SAM-E, acupuncture and meditation. While this last batch of remedies might seem like quackery, the doctors are quick to caution that such treatments are experimental, unproven, a last resort and should not be employed unless under the supervision of a trained medical professional.

While THE NECK PAIN HANDBOOK is a quick, easy and informative read, I was hoping for more do-it-yourself advice. For example, the authors describe the ten exercises presented in THE NECK PAIN HANDBOOK as "an excellent starting point" - which makes me believe there are additional exercises they could have included, but chose not to. Which is annoying, as they also say that about 80% of neck pain can be attributed to poor posture and weak neck musculature. While the exercises presented are straightforward and relatively easy to understand, not all of them are new to me; indeed, I've already been performing a few for back strength and flexibility. Also, in addition to mentioning meditation for neck pain, the authors might have included a brief section on yoga, which has proven immensely helpful to me.

Other than these two small drawbacks, THE NECK PAIN HANDBOOK is a nice overview of neck pain, particularly for those who are just beginning to research the topic.

I have suffered from neck, shoulder, and head pain for many years. I have been given muscle relaxants, painkillers, and steroid shots. I work from home and therefore I sit in front of a computer many hours a day. This leads to a very sedentary lifestyle. As the book pointed out, this is very similar to being bedridden. My muscles just sit there, doing nothing all day. I learned how to exercise and stretch them. And then more importantly, I learned how to adjust my chair and monitor and sit properly. This made all the difference in the world. I can sit and work all afternoon and not even notice a twinge.

The fact that this book is written by two physicians is what clinches for me. I feel I can trust what it says. Especially after putting it into practice and having it work so well. If you're a desk jockey as well, I highly recommend this book.

[...]

This book is very well written and simple in dealing with the causes and treatments of neck pain. I learned a lot from this book and a lot of the information surprised me. For instance, there are over twenty muscles in the neck. I was drawn to this book because of my profession, I am a 911 Operator and I am forced to be in a sedentary position for eight hour shifts. I can completely relate to neck pain and this book helped me with exercises that I can do when it starts to get stiff.
The authors have several case studies in the book and each one had varying degrees of neck pain. Most of the people were able to get thru their pain without surgery and continuing rehabilitation and exercises. I first thought that this book was going to be more technical than it was, but I found that the authors put everything into simple terms. The medical and anatomy background is very thorough and the reader is able to comprehend the information. I think somebody who has been thru Anatomy and Physiology can handle this book just fine.
The book covers more holistic and acupuncture which I found fascinating. Even better were the photos and illustrations for the exercises. I found these particularly helpful and have sense been incorporating some of the exercises in my daily regime. All in all, I highly recommend this book for anyone with a more sedentary lifestyle, not just people with chronic neck pain.

I may be a little biased - take that into account when you read my review.
I was being treated by Dr. Visco just as the book was released; my happiness with his treatment may have clouded my judgement.

As I read through the book in his office, just a chapter here and there while I waited, I realized how so much of this stuff applies to my every day life.
Certainly, if I had followed the guidelines in the book, I'd probably never have needed Dr. Visco & his amazing partners and associates.

This book is a fairly simple read for a layperson. Language isn't terribly complicated, and there are visuals to explain most of what is talked about.
Simple concepts like ... (paraphrased) "mold your work environment to your body - not your body to the work environment" should have been obvious to me, but I never thought that way.
Heck, my car has a seat that adjusts forward and backward, angles the back, lumbar support, and an adjustable headrest. The steering wheel column and the attached controls also can be adjusted for depth and angle. I have all that adjustment for the car I use about 9 hours a week in commuting and other tasks.
I spend that much time fixing machines at a lab bench, programming or answering email at my desk, and on my back (or some other inconvenient position) changing wires in a floor, ceiling, or under a desk. --I'm a "computer guy" one job description won't cut it. But until recently, I just sat, stood, or worked around whatever 'stuff' was there.

Not only does the book address ergonomics, but also the basic anatomy of the back; who knew? really - there are tiny little muscles in the spine, and they need to be stretched and exercised! I learned a lot about body-building in my testosterone-soaked teen weight-lifting/wrestling/football days, but nothing was ever said about these little -important- muscles.

I would have liked to see more in the way of actual exercises, but I guess that might be a second book.. or self-preservation.
Learning the anatomy, seeing the bad things I do to make things worse, and getting a general overview of ergonomics are probably enough for a light read, especially at this price.
Learning the exercises is the business of Physical Therapists, and some of what these Doctors do.

I've continued the exercises I learned after being treated, and anyone I meet with back pain gets a copy of this book, and Dr. Visco's card. There is nothing worse for a chronic pain patient than to get the PT+Rx run-around for months or years. Use this book before you get back pain if you can!
If you already have back pain.. or care for someone who does, use this book as a primer to learn what is going on. Any professional who is going to really help will share a lot of the teachings and opinions here in the book.
Others - if you are already involved in physical training, yoga, pilates - even students learning these.. should read the book to see what the process is about. You may save yourself some future pain, and you will learn why the patients you treat can't understand why they just don't get better.
Last note - check the web for short clips.. FOX5NY + VISCO should give a short video with a real-life application of some ergonomics lessons.

The metaphorical phrase 'pain in the neck' is used when some people don't know what they're talking about. "The Neck Pain Handbook: Your Guide to Understanding and Treating Neck Pain" is a guide for those who suffer from chronic neck pain and are considering all of the treatment options possible for their constant annoyance through life. Discussing how to prevent it, how to modify how one lives to prevent more discomfort, exercises, and when to consider more serious procedures, DiaMedica delivers another complete and comprehensive guide. "The Neck Pain Handbook" should be highly considered for those who can't take their neck's agony any longer.

Dr Cooper's book is easy to read, yet highly informative. Simply put, it helped change my life (and posture). For those who think they have tried every remedy possible for neck/back pain, this book may make a difference for you.

This book is a great introduction to neck pain both it's causes and some simple exercises that can help alleviate it. It's written by two doctors which to me makes it seem a little more credible than some other books that have been out in the marketplace. It's written so that it's easily understood by the average person and contains some easy to understand charts and pictures.

The chapter about the neck had some excellent illustrations to help you understand how the neck works. It also had some excellent pictures in following chapters to demonstrate bad posture positions and also examples of simple exercises you can do to alleviate the problem.

This book is targeted for those people who have chronic neck pain that is caused by poor posture and a lack of exercise, but there are sections that are devoted to other types of neck pain (such as those stemming from injuries) but they are very brief.

While they did discuss the importance of seeking medical treatment for certain symptoms, I was impressed that they also included a section on alternative treatments for the problem.

This book was a pretty quick read but I felt was very imformative. It has some great exercises, charts, diagrams and photographs and as someone who has suffered from neck and back pain for years it gave me some ideas on how I could treat and possibly prevent some of what I've been dealing with.

This is a clear and concise look at what causes neck pain and how to treat it. The exercises are well-thought out and easy to do. The book also delves into the various treatment options available. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with neck pain- it will help you tremendously!

The authors are physicians who have a lot of experience treating neck pain, and this book is a good primer for the layperson who knows nothing about the topic. But as a medical writer, I found that the book didn't provide much information that I didn't already know. The fact that poor posture can cause neck and back pain is not exactly a revelation.

What I was hoping for is more advice on things I can do myself, physically, to ease the neck pain. The exercises provided in the book are helpful, but there aren't enough of them. And I was very surprised that the topic I was most interested in learning about, cervical traction, was not even MENTIONED. How can you write a book about neck pain and not include traction, which is one of the most common treatments?