Customer Reviews

What to do for a Pain in the Neck : The Complete Program for Neck Pain Relief

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book not only gave me tools to help my neck pain subside, it helped me understand why I had it and what I could do to help myself before getting yet another professional opionion. The chapter on "Neck first aid" has been particularly helpful. The straight-forward instructions, including simple to perform exercises and useful principles are easy to follow. I also like the author's way of addressing the reader. He never talks down to the reader and imparts medical information that no doctor has ever bothered to explain to me before. He comes across as personable and approachable, and I wish I lived closer to his office so I could see him if I needed to!

This book is amazing. I did regularly for a week the series of "First Aid Neck Exercises" and my neck related headaches went away. It is super simple to understand and very educational. I know a lot more about necks now. My massage therapist, who has a herniated disk in the neck, is now practicing the exercises and he has seen much improvement. If you have pain in your neck, BUY THIS BOOK.

This book is a truly complete guide to explaining and treating neck problems. Written by an MD in easily understandable language, it does not stop at discussing classical remedies physicians offer for spine problems. It incorporates and validates non-classical methods such as chiropractic manipulations and acupuncture. The best part are the chapters on physical therapy: The exercises are clearly explained and can be understood and performed with or without professional help. I had serious neck pain with nerve involvment, which made it impossible for me to lie on my back without pain. Within a month of doing the exercises(on my own), I am completely pain free and back to my former activities. All of this without one doctor's visit. What a bargain!

I am so grateful for this book. I woke up one Sunday morning unable to stand due to severe pain in my upper back and right shoulder. I had an MRI which showed a herniated disk and bulging disks in my neck. I saw an orthopedic doctor and a neurosurgeon, neither of whom provided me with detailed information about my condition. ("You have a ruptured disk.") I got prescriptions for Motrin and physical therapy, and that was about it. When I got this book, I read almost the whole thing in one sitting. Just understanding the anatomy and physiology of my condition was comforting. I have been recovering, and I refer to this book often for information and suggestions. I highly recommend it to anyone with severe neck pain.

22 years in IT has left me with major neck pain that I really had no idea how to combat. I did PT, went to the Chiros, Acupuncturists, etc with no help. This book has given me a plan that seems to be helping, tho I'm sure I will never be pain free.

Life is a lot more complicated when you have chronic pain and you need a multifaceted plan of attack. This book gives it to you.

He explains the neck structure and where the pain can come from and what can be done in layman's terms about each situation. Try to get that out of your doctor. He goes thru exercises(really the key to minimizing neck pain if you don't need surgery), drugs, psychological issues(your brain can make you worse) and posture.

Posture sounds simple, but there are so many situations you can get into that can hurt your neck, you really need to be ever vigilant and the book tells you how to handle it.

It was all trial and error before I read this book which never works because you have good days and bad days and you think you know the causes, but you don't. This book gives a no nonsense practical approach to dealing with the situation. It is the only book you will need. And if your neck is hurting YOU NEED IT!!

Original review: I'm about 1/3 through the book and already I've learned more in this book than years of doctors' appointments, physical therapy, chiropractic, orthopedists, etc. The reason - neck pain is a very complex problem that can't be explained quickly or effectively in the course of a 5-10 minute appointment with someone who does not specialize in spinal conditions. That's where Schofferman's book comes in. It is very, very thorough and I recommend it to anyone who suffers neck pain. It addresses different diagnostic exams, different types of neck pain and what causes them, posture (with diagrams), many different treatment options, and much, much more. If you have chronic neck pain, buy this book.

ADDENDUM (June 21, 2011) - Alright, I have gone from rating this 5 stars to rating 2 stars. Here is why. Yes, it has a lot of information in it about different approaches, etc. However, after many, many years of chronic neck pain, the approach in this book did NOT help me. I tried the exercises many many times, and almost every single time they seemed to cause a flareup. In short, the recommendation for Treatment in this book is - do exercises to strengthen and you will be all good. I now know that for me, this simply isn't so. Because, I have come to understand that my neck pain (and I believe of a very high percentage of other people's neck pain) is not from a physical cause. I stumbled onto the work of Dr. Sarno - read his books and I instantly knew this is what my condition was - Sarno calls it TMS. Since then I have begun to work a similar program that addresses chronic pain issues by Dr. Howard Schubiner called Unlearn Your Pain. $100 for the program and worth double or triple it. (also has a book available on his site) Since beginning the program I have gone back to playing basketball for the first time in years- almost 100% pain free after playing. Previously, I would have crippling pain for 2 days. I've made huge strides and severely reduced my pain. I hope this review helps somebody out there - if I had heard of Sarno and Dr. Schubiner I would have prevented many years of pain. You can be pain free.

This book nicely complements Jim Johnson's "Multifidus" book. It's the best book I have seen on self treatment. I advocate it with all my cervical patients at the South Texas Spinal Clinic and Hospital.

This is a must have book. It covers all the details, I have read many books and this one explains very precisely and Dr. schofferman even take care of the psychological problems. Well, if you are the type od person who would like to take care of yourself, you would definetely like to have this book as your guideline.

If you are suffering from neck-pain, you simply need to read this.

This book is absolutely packed with valuable information. The book intelligently written, without seeming pertinacious or hoity-toity.

When I finished the book; I felt much more prepared to talk to the doctor (and had insight into what was going on).

I simply can't offer higher praise!! Thank you so much for writing this Dr. Schofferman!!!

Brett
Nashville, TN

I have only scanned through this book but so far I'm impressed, it has some good exercises and explanations as to why you are in pain. I purchased this with the Arc4Life pillow and would recommend both items.