Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain (Paperback)

by Pete Egoscue (Author), Roger Gittines (Contributor) "The doctor thought I was unconscious-a reasonable assumption in an intensive care ward of a U.S. hospital ship filled with newly arrived Vietnam combat casualties..." (more)
Key Phrases: static back, supine groin stretch, compensating muscles, Sitting Floor, Egoscue Method, Static Wall (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Pete Egoscue learned a lot about pain when, as a Marine officer, he was wounded in Vietnam. He segued from patient to physical therapist, and now runs a famous clinic in San Diego, where he claims he's helped 95 percent of his patients cure chronic pain--including Jack Nicklaus and Charles Barkley, whose athletic careers he helped prolong. At the heart of his program are stretches and motion exercises to restore proper function to muscles and joints. His methods are often surprising and counterintuitive. For example, for foot pain, he suggests a series of hip exercises. In fact, this is one of the most startling books you'll read about the human organism. Egoscue has strong opinions about how modern life is changing the way our bodies function, reducing the tasks we must perform and thus reducing the functional range of motion of our muscles and joints. Fortunately, he offers movement exercises to restore what nature meant us to have. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
A celebrity physiologist shares his pain-relief method.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (February 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553379887
• ISBN-13: 978-0553379884
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (198 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #527 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book relieved hip, knee, and shoulder pain for me., July 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method For Stopping Chronic Pain (Hardcover)

I must add my endorsement to those of others. Last summer, after two back operations, and hundreds of hours of physical therapy, and facing the prospect of beginning school in chronic pain that required me to lie down for several hours a day, I saw Mr. Egoscue's book. I tried the exercises, doing them exactly as he instructs. Within a few weeks, I noticed significant improvement, and not only in my back, but in chronic knee and shoulder problems. I kept up with the exercises, and, after about six months, I found I could do things I hadn 't been able to do for over ten years--like swim, lift weights, ride a bike. . . I'm not completely pain-free, but I credit the exercises in this book for returning me to about 80% normal. I continue to do the maintenance exercises daily. I'm completely convinced by Mr. Egoscue, and this is after trying conventional medicine and every alternative in the books and quite a few not in the books. His approach works far more effectively than anything else I've tried, from surgery to herbs. I recommended it to a friend who called me one morning in severe back pain--two weeks later she, too, was calling it a miracle. I'm in danger of becoming a bore at parties, because whenever I hear anyone with any kind of chronic musculoskeletal problem I spend about half an hour extolling the virtues of Mr. Egoscue's method. It works!

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Scientific Perspective on the Body, September 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method For Stopping Chronic Pain (Hardcover)

I'll add my voice to the others extolling the virtues of the Egoscue Method. What really impressed me, as an engineer and scientist, was Pete's recognition that the body must obey structural laws, just like a skyscraper. Buildings are designed so that weight is transferred through the girders, not the joints. In people, muscles position our girders (bones) so that they transfer weight effectively. When our muscles weaken from lack of use, the bones aren't positioned correctly. Our personal skyscraper begins to sway, and the wrong joints or muscles are forced to compensate. This causes or allows the myriad of ailments Pete describes, because the wrong joints simply cant bear the load -- knees wear out, backs hurt, etc. Don't think this program is easy. You must pay attention to detail when you do the exercises. It is hard, long work. Muscles that have weakened for years dont strengthen overnight. But feeling good, controlling your own health -- isn't that worth it? After five orthopedists and two chiropracters, it is for me.

38 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Egoscue's book appears both effective and economical., August 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method For Stopping Chronic Pain (Hardcover)

After two sessions with Egoscue's exercises, I've still spent less than $25, I can hold my head straighter, and my uneven gait from mis-aligned hips is much improved. Two sessions at the physical therapist would have cost $36 in hot-packs alone, never mind the cost of actual therapy. And I would have been treated for the hip or the shoulder, but probably not both.

Egoscue recommends reading the introductory chapters, then moving to the chapters specific to your needs. This advice works well with one possible exception: you may miss the story about the woman so misaligned that after 45 minutes in a relaxed, static back posture, she went into muscle spasm. This story indicates that it might be wise for people with considerable pain or strong mis-alignment to have someone with them during the first days or weeks of doing these exercises, to begin with the minimum times recommended for each exercise, and to expect to take longer to reach maintenance.

Egoscue might also have provided directions on how to get up after lying in some of these positions: I've found it helps to pull my legs in toward my torso, then turn onto my side before I try raising my head and upper body.

All in all, Egoscue's book appears very helpful. I now have high hopes for my own recovery from various chronic muscle ailments and recommend the book (I'm getting ready to have Amazon.com mail a copy to my sister right now).