How I Recovered From Chronic Back & Neck Pain: an Odyssey of Pain and Learning [Paperback]

Sheldon P. Needle (Author), Sheldon Needle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1997

If you feel like you are drowning in an ocean of endless medical tests, treatments, and medications with no real diagnoses and no relief in sight, How I Recovered from Chronic Back and Neck Pain may be your answer! Tens of billions of dollars are spent by people with chronic back and neck pain searching for cures. Most practitioners offer hope but very little in the way of help. Unlike most "pain" books written by doctors or physical therapists, this is a personal story, not a clinical one. It blends Mr. Needle's own experiences with careful research into medical history, and traditional and alternative medical treatments. But his message is not just his story: his message can be your story, too.

Mr. Needle offers brass-tacks descriptions (down to what they feel like and what they cost!) of traditional and non-traditional medical alternatives. He offers a powerful battery of passive and active therapies through which even someone with a deep-rooted chronic condition can achieve lasting pain relief. This book can also serve as a resource for books and articles on chronic pain and what you can do about it. It has an extensive list of Internet sites with relevant information on different therapies, exercises, and other remedies, as well as societies and professional boards that certify physical therapists, acupuncturists, and other healers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Chronic pain is one of the knottiest problems that life has to offer, frequently making its home within you without a definitive diagnosis and never leaving you alone except for brief respites. Some see chronic pain as a disease unto itself, especially when it has no known physical causes. But, as I found out through years of trial and error, there is hope. With the right physical therapy program and mental conditioning, many of us may be able to achieve lasting and significant relief even if a complete cure is not possible.

A few years ago, Sheldon Needle, the author of this book, found himself suffering from chronic back and neck pain, along with chronic fatigue. Like so many of us, he began the long, frustrating, and expensive journey through this dark tunnel of pain. But unlike most of us, he escaped. And, in doing so, he learned how to gain control over his pain without medication. How did he do it? And, what is more important, How can you do it? Mr. Needle had an insight that allowed him to harness the therapies available and to escape the cycle of pain. That insight, in addition to a regimen of exercise and therapy, is something he shares in this book. What he learned from his experiences can launch your recovery, too.

From the Author

My odyssey with chronic pain began some eight years ago when I assisted someone in moving a very heavy patient in a nursing home. In doing this good deed I strained my back. There was no immediate acute pain but just an apparent strain. I was aware of it and took it easy for a couple of weeks. For me taking it easy meant no jogging or aerobics. I have always been physically very active and needed my every-other-day workout high to keep my sanity.

After a couple of weeks I went back to my usual routine. It wasn't long before the back pain became worse and I noticed a sharp pain in my lower back when I tried to do my indoor (high impact) aerobic routine. Five months after the initial strain I simply had run my back into the ground and had to stop. Thus began a long and tortuous saga of doctors visits, various therapies, medications, immense frustration, denial, chronic fatigue, quack cures, depression and then, ultimately, a solution. The doctors rarely gave me a word of encouragement. It seemed as though I had been sentenced to a life of misery with no way out. My eventual victory was achieved almost by process of elimination. I kept trying things until I found the solutions that worked for me.

I am now 52 years old. Three years ago I thought I would wind up an invalid before 70. I had pain everywhere, in my lower back, in my joints, in my neck. I thought I was falling apart. Today, I feel better than ever. This is my story of recovery. I hope it proves of some value to you.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 99 pages
• Publisher: CTS (January 1997)
• ISBN-10: 091742915X
• ISBN-13: 978-0917429156
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,509,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)