Strong Women, Strong Backs: Everything You Need to Know to Prevent, Treat, and Beat Back Pain [Hardcover]

Ph.D, Miriam E. Nelson (Author), M.A., Lawrence Lindner (Author)

Book Description

Series: Strong Women | Publication Date: September 7, 2006

From the bestselling author of the Strong Women health series, an essential program for a strong, healthy, pain-free back and a toned midsection.

In this accessible guide, trusted women's health author and exercise physiologist Miriam E. Nelson presents the essential information every woman needs to know to maintain a healthy back. Complete with clear explanations, practical advice, and lively anecdotes from women who have benefited from this simple and effective program, the book discusses:

- the major causes of back pain in women;
- how stress and other emotional matters play a key role;
- a straightforward exercise program to improve flexibility, strength, and aerobic fitness-designed specifically for women;
- advice for creating a back-friendly home and office; and
- explanations of the medical options available-and how to know when they might be necessary.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Miriam E. Nelson, Ph.D., is an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and director of the Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition at Tufts University. She is the author of seven previous Strong Women books, including Strong Women, Strong Bones; Strong Women Eat Well; and Strong Women and Men Beat Arthritis. Her research has been published in The Journal of the American Medical Association and The New England Journal of Medicine, and is covered prominently in popular media, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Today show, CNN, Time, and Newsweek.

Lawrence Lindner, M.A., pens the "Eating Right" column for The Boston Globe and writes frequently about health matters.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Adult; 1 edition (September 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399153756
• ISBN-13: 978-0399153754
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #489,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #76 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Aging > Back Pain

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The recommended exercises really helped me, January 12, 2008

By 

M. Marshall (Grand Canyon, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Strong Women, Strong Backs: Everything You Need to Know to Prevent, Treat, and Beat Back Pain (Hardcover)

This is a fairly short book with a lot of good basic information about back care and a recommended set of simple back exercises and stretches, several of them with different alternatives for different fitness levels and situations. (Plan on buying a Swiss/stability ball, although you can do alternative exercises without one. I actually use a stability ball as my computer chair at home anyway for my back's sake, and for a year I needed to use one at work since I couldn't find any regular chair that worked for me when my back was at its worst.)

For me these exercises seemed to make a huge difference. I'd been given about 3 times the number of exercises by my osteopath, but it seemed like some helped and others hurt my back and the result was neutral; plus the long list of exercises was tedious and intimidating. Various yoga and stability ball DVDs were the same way. By contrast, here was a nice simple set of 6 exercises and 4 stretches that I was quite willing to do every other day or so, and they helped and none hurt and I finally found myself functional again! (I add pelvic tilts to the six exercises for a total of seven.)

Hard to say how much was the timing after 2 years of back pain, but this sure SEEMED to help me more than the osteopath, chiropracters, massages, acupuncture, or attempts at trigger point self-therapy.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful Information, January 9, 2007

By 

JH (Northern Rockies) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Strong Women, Strong Backs: Everything You Need to Know to Prevent, Treat, and Beat Back Pain (Hardcover)

This book provides good general information, a large section on exercises to help your back, and good guidelines to follow to know if you need surgery. It will not help you diagnose yourself.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good information, August 6, 2007

By 

Scrapper (Lancaster, PA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Strong Women, Strong Backs: Everything You Need to Know to Prevent, Treat, and Beat Back Pain (Hardcover)

I found the book to be informative and well-written. I have some of her other books, so I like this author very much. She gives you some suggestions for exercise and meals. I would recommend this book for any woman who is interested in taking care of herself, especially to prevent osteoporosis.