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

~ (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: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (212 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #734 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Aging > Pain Management
  #2 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Exercise & Fitness > Injuries & Rehabilitation
  #6 in	Books > Health, Mind & Body > Disorders & Diseases

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 74 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!

50 of 50 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.

76 of 82 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wow almost, December 20, 2001

By A Customer

This book is used as a textbook for a physical education course at the Northern Virginia Community College. The course name and description are:
Topics in: Functional Training
Course covers postural and joint movement assessment & specific exercise techniques to correct deficiencies of strength development or range of motion that may cause injury ond discomfort.

Although I have not started the course yet I have read the book and tried some of the exercises. For me the section on shoulders was most relevant. As a weight trainee I had been having difficulty fully extending my left arm above my head while lifting. One of the diagnostic movements in the book suggested that I had a tightness and/or misalignment in the shoulder that could be the problem. Performing the shoulder movements described in the book brought about almost instant relief. For that I am grateful.

However, the author is not content to confine himself to what he does well which is to describe E-cises (his terminology). He makes a few statements which are not only false, but which could be dangerous.

His statement that "You cannot drink too much water." was proven false a few years ago by some misguided parents who disciplined their children by forcing them to drink water in excessive amounts. I think the resulting death of one of the children pretty much disproves his statement. The problem is not the water per se, but the resulting electrolyte imbalance. Perspiring profusely and only drinking plain water can result in an electrolyte imbalance. The symptoms include a tingling sensation.
It is real. I experienced it one time. Despite many "experts" who advocate plain water I know that there are those among us who would do better following the advice in OPTIMAL MUSCLE RECOVERY by Edmund R. Burke, PhD.

Egoscue sees nothing wrong with impact -- as in high impact aerobics. I do. Also, he is so into using proof by evolution that he uses it as an explanation for any personal opinion for which he can cite no good scientific study. And if evolution doesn't explain it then look for some body misalignment as a cause for a problem. My opinions on impact are these: 1. If it causes pain, don't do it. 2. While a little bit of impact may be good it is easy to overdo and if overdone can cause irreversible damage. It doesn't matter if the people in your family tree didn't evolve with aerobics in mind or if you have some body misalignment. Years of running on hard surfcess have left me with arthritic knees which have resulted in knee operations. One orthopedic surgeon told me that had I been a couch potato the operations would not be needed until thirty more years. Using the evolution argument of which Egoscue is so fond I propose that humans did not evolve on flat concrete or asphalt. They evolved walking on soft irregular surfaces. The universities in the state of Oregon which have produced several outstanding runners credit the use of soft wood chip running paths for part of their success. Likewise, running sand dunes has worked for Australian runners.
Then too there are some people who should limit impact activities because of uncorrectable defects such as bowlegs or knock knees, or because of excess weight, or because of weak cartilage caused by the body's using the amino acid cystine rather than the chemically similar amino acid arginine when constructing cartilage.
This book is definitely a good read. Give the E-cises a try. Just don't blindly accept everything the author says. Like most of us he gets a little full of himself at times.