Customer Reviews

Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain

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Written by an author who has suffered with chronic pain himself, Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain takes a specific stand on why you're hurting and what you should do about it. In a nutshell, the idea is that chronic pain is due to imbalances in the body- mainly those of posture and alignment, which can be corrected through proper motions the book calls "E-cises". Here's a few highlights...

-the book starts you out with three chapters that go over its main ideas
-from there, you go to specific chapters for specific problems (like the foot, the back, the shoulder, etc.)
-you'll find lots of good pictures that do a good job of showing you how to do the exercises
-you don't really need a lot of equipment to do the exercises- mainly some pillows or something to rest your arms and legs on
-there are routines for maintenance, as well as specific sports (like soccer, football, etc.)

Mostly good stuff here, as you can see, and an all around sensible approach I thought. I did find the exercises simple enough, and will probably help relax a lot of pain sufferers to boot.

The negatives? Not many. The only thing I think that might turn off some people, is the time involved- sometimes its recommended you do them for 45 minutes to an hour. But, you get out of it what you put into it.

Worth a good look, I recommend any chronic pain sufferer give them a try. Those with back pain might also be interested in Treat Your Own Spinal Stenosis.

I purchased this book after being diagnosed with 2 herniated discs, one ruptured. My neurosurgeon told me there was nothing I could proactively do to remedy this condition, but I refused to accept this diagnosis and subsequently found and bought this book.

I performed some of the exercises for back pain and felt some immediate, but not complete, relief. I knew, though, that I had a lot to fix after being in an extremely severe car accident several years ago. I was extremely impressed, however, with the physiological foundations for this form of therapy. It just made a lot of intuitive sense.

So, I arranged to visit the Egoscue Clinic in Del Mar, about a 3 hour drive from my home. I'm now 3 visits into the 8 visit program and I could not be more impressed. These people are doing AMAZING things and getting people back to living functionally who thought they'd never be functional again.

In the strongest possible terms, I encourage ANYONE to get this book, read it, and use it. And if you suffer from chronic pain that is seriously impacting your life, you owe it to yourself to avail yourself of the clinic's services.

By the way, I've had the opportunity to meet Pete Egoscue and have spent maybe a half hour talking with him one on one. He's a very nice, humble man who has a sincere heart for helping people become pain free.

I'm going to have to lower my lathe about 4 inches. Hmm, well that's starting at the end. Back to the beginning: The first thing I noticed when I got the book was a blurb from Depak Chopra. Not very encouraging. The second was on about page 34 or so the author says the X-Rays are one of the biggest problems with modern medicine...and I'm an X-Ray Tech. The biggest problem is that all of the evidence is anecdotal, some even celebrity anecdotes, nary a controlled study in sight.

But I'm afraid I've become an anecdote myself. After doing the shoulder pain exercises for a couple of weeks, not only has the pain gone away but my shoulder height has dropped about four inches. I can tell, because both of my lathes were set to be at elbow height, and now they're far too high.

After doing the shoulder exercises for a month or so I switched over to the general exercises, and my feet, after 50 years, now point straight ahead when I walk instead of out to the sides. With a little deliberate effort at first, mind you.

The book makes consumate sense. And it sure worked for me. Far better to buy and follow the book now before our modern propensity for the sedentary life gets you in trouble.

Pain Free is the simplest, most direct explanation of the Egoscue Method available...if you'd like to save hundreds if not thousands of dollars over therapy, get this book.

Pete Egoscue deserves enormous credit for introducing the concept that structural integration - aka postural alignment - is the primary method for relieving all kinds of chronic pain. Western medicine is fantastic at combating "acute" problems (broken bone, heart attack), but has not traditionally been so great at tackling "chronic" problems... something that I think postural alignment really addresses much more effectively than most western physical therapy. I personally thought so highly of the Egoscue Method that after I bought and read this book I went to get treated at an Egoscue clinic (where I think they correctly diagnosed my problem), I bought his two other books, took the P3 seminar to get their lowest certification, and referred my dad and a good friend to Egoscue for their problems.

I would say that the biggest criticism I have of Egoscue is the time required to do the "e-cises"... these can literally demand 30-45 minutes PER DAY to apply appropriately. Also, Egoscue's depiction of the ideal posture, which I originally accepted as gospel because I had no comparison, I have since come to think of as slightly flawed.

I prefer Esther Gokhale's "8 Steps to a Pain Free Back" for two reasons:

1. It takes MUCH less time - you simply learn the Gokhale method and then integrate it all the time without separate exercises.

2. Instead of trying to figure out from an engineering perspective what's best for the body as Egoscue has done, Gokhale went out to indigenous peoples with very low incidences of chronic pain and simply observed what they were doing...her depiction of the ideal posture is based on this, and is what produces the slight variations with Egoscue's ideal posture. I think Gokhale makes a convincing case for her method because of this.

If you're sold on the Egoscue Method, then I highly recommend "Pain Free" as the book to get at the method the quickest (well-done book with illustrations and explanations); but I prefer Gokhale and would recommend checking that out as well.

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).

"A pain free, active lifestyle is not only possible, but it is the way you should expect to feel and live, no matter your age, no matter your previous experience". -Pete Egoscue

The basis of Pete's philosophy centers around two things (in my opinion):

1. a person is ultimately responsible for their own health, including skeletal/muscular health. The Egoscue method puts you in charge of healing yourself. It's a big responsibility, but ultimately, it's the only real path that works. Being medicated or manipulated by others can help with symptoms, but only you can really address root problems.

2. your body is not supposed to hurt all the time! It's our western sendentary lifestyles that have created postural problems which lead to pain. When Pete sees photos of indigenous cultures, or even modern cultures that aren't so sedentary (like eastern europe), he sees none of the structural problems that are so evident in americans (loss of arch in low back, shoulders rotated forward, tops of hands visible when viewing a person from the front, carrying the head girdle in front of the spine, etc). If you give your body the motion it needs (in a variety of ways, not just the same thing over and over), it maintains proper posture and chronic pains will dissappear.

I'm a client at Pete's clinic in Del Mar, about 3/4 of the way through an 8-visit series. I do about 1/2 hours of his e-cises each day. I've witnessed my low back and neck pain go almost completely away and I literally see things differently because I'm now carrying my head above my spine instead of arched forward - it changes my field of vision.

I had not gone snowboarding for three years until recently. I'm very psyched to now think of moving into middle and old age active and pain free rather than having to give up more and more activities.

Try it, it works.

There are now (2006) four books by Pete Egoscue available: (1) "The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion" (1992), (2) "Pain Free" (1998), (3) "Pain Free at your PC" (1999) and (4) "Pain Free for Women" (2002). If you are suffering from musculoskeletal pain and someone has recommended Egoscue to you or you are impressed with the testimonials in the Amazon reviews, you may well ask yourself, "Which book should I buy first?" Probably the second, "Pain Free" but each has its merits.

All the books are based on two generally recognized propositions: (1) in a healthy human the lines connecting the two ankles or the two knees or the two hips or the two shoulders should all be horizontal and the feet and knees should point straight forward when walking or standing without thinking about one's posture, and (2) deviations from this structure usually originate with the position of the pelvis. Trying to correct the manifestation of the misaligned pelvis will not help until the fundamental problem is fixed.

In the first book, Egoscue describes a self-diagnosis which puts you in one of four categories based largely on your posture when standing in a natural, relaxed way. Once you know your category, you turn to page 127 to find your menu of exercises. The exercises are presented in alphabetical order; you look up the exercises on your menu, learn and do them. You may need as much as 90 minutes a day or as little as 30, depending on the severity of your condition.

Of the first book, Egoscue says in the second (page 282) "[It was] a pretty ambitious theme. This one, 'Pain Free,' is more more modest." I think that means that the reader had to work harder to understand the first than the second. People in pain do not immediately know which category they fall into. But they do know where they hurt. So "Pain Free", after a brief explanation of the fundamental theory, is organized by where the pain is: feet, ankles, knees, hips, back, shoulders, arms, and neck and head. For each area, Egoscue gives exercises. Many exercises are used for more than one area, but everywhere the exercise is used, a picture of the exercise is repeated and the page number where is was described in full is given. The result is definitely easier to use. Also, there are a number of new exercises for specific problems, such as a herniated disk in the spine. Initially, your program of exercises may require 90 minutes or more, but most of the time is spent on one particular exercise. Once pain is gone for a week or more, the maintenance exercises (pages 277-282) should not take more than about 20 minutes a day.

The third book, "Pain Free at your PC" is aimed, obviously, at PC users. Egoscue distinguishes three categories, but if you use a PC more than about an hour a day, you are in the third category. Initially, you'll need 80 minutes a day at home and 5 minutes at the office, but most of that 80 minutes is on one exercise, the supine groin stretch, and the time needed for it will diminish. If you are a "power user" of the PC, you are at serious risk of developing musculoskeletal pain, not because of any problem with your PC or your chair or your desk, but because, for hours at a time, you are not moving the main muscles that hold body together and make it work. They atrophy, and problems develop. Egoscue's exercises are designed to cure or avoid those problems. If you are a heavy PC user, you could start with this one.

I have not read "Pain Free for Women" since I was clearly not in its target audience. It would be a mistake, however, for women to conclude that since this book is specifically for them the other books don't apply. Every word of the other books applies equally to men and women. This one, however, has chapters on pregnancy, childbirth, and other specifically feminine matters. For herniated disks, aching feet, and other problems common to both sexes, I would suggest "Pain Free" first.

The Egoscue book that I want to read is the one that has not been written, the one that explains Egoscue's own thinking, what each exercise does and why certain exercises should be done before others. On these questions, all the books are silent and rather dogmatic. The reader is supposed to know what the "hip flexors" are but is presumed to be unable to understand why one exercise should precede others. Egoscue, however, rearranges them in numerous orders. What does he know that he doesn't tell? Because of that problem, I have given the books only four stars.

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.

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!

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.