Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain (Paperback)

~ Ronald D. Siegel (Author), Michael H. Urdang (Author), Douglas R. Johnson (Author) "If you've been suffering with back pain, we don't need to tell you just how bad it can get..." (more)
Key Phrases: Back Sense

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

About 50 million Americans suffer back pain every year, and chronic back pain disables 1 in 40 adults. Back Sense takes a different approach, contending that most chronic back pain is caused not by a damaged spine, but by stress, muscle tension, and inactivity. The aim is to help you reclaim your life and decrease your pain.

The spine might be damaged initially, but it usually heals on its own, the authors assert. After that, stress causes muscle tightness, which results in continued pain. Traditional treatments don't work because they treat the spine, not the stress. The solution: understand your own symptoms and pain, learn to resume full activity, and work with your negative emotions to prevent them from derailing your recuperation.

Part 1 of Back Sense helps you evaluate your own case and determine whether you have warning signs of a serious injury or disease (in which case you must get medical attention), understand the mind-body connection, and examine how stress may be causing your chronic pain. Part 2 teaches you how to bring full physical activity back into your life and manage your negative emotions.

The authors--two of whom relieved chronic back pain with this very program--do not want you to baby your body or limit your life to protect your back. Rather, they contend that "being careful actually appears to be harmful." They explain that "as long as you are trying to get rid of pain, you stay preoccupied with it," creating more tension, and by avoiding "risky" movements, you lose muscle conditioning, making you vulnerable to additional injury. The book takes you through a process of gradually incorporating more exercise and tracking your reactions. The style is simple and friendly, and the book has many plan charts, logs, and other helpful tools. --Joan Price --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Both clinical psychologist Ronald D. Siegel and market research consultant Michael H. Urdang have suffered from chronic back pain. They learned to treat their pain by using a new system of integrative medicine (a combination of East and West) and by staying physically active. In Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain, Siegel and Urdang team up with physician Douglas R. Johnson, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation, to dispel misunderstandings by both sufferers and medical practitioners about the cause and treatment of back pain, based on their extensive research and success in treating thousands of patients. Agent, Ira Silverberg, Donadio & Olson.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Broadway (April 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0767905814
• ISBN-13: 978-0767905817
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #130,776 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book makes Sense of the pain. Try it!, October 26, 2001

By	Jeffrey B. Leland (Worcester, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain (Hardcover)

I have had mild to moderate, with occasional severe, back pain for many years. Generally, the pain started when I was in graduate school. I thought that the long hours of sitting in class, reading and studying was damaging my "weak" back.

After reading this book, I started to realize how much stress was a major factor in my back pain. Just before I read the book I was visiting my chiropractor every week and getting a massage a couple times a month. I loved the treatments, but I was getting increasingly concerned that I had a serious problem with my back that was going to disable me, sooner, rather than later.

After finishing Backsense, I have stopped stressing about every twinge, tight muscle or pain in my back---and the pain has been much less and less frequent! I now enjoy my gym activities and play time with my children, knowing that my back is strong and healthy.

Backsense gave me a better understanding and confidence in the strength and durability of my back. It was easy to read and understand. Anyone searching for relief from back pain should read this book.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I urge you to read this book, September 26, 2001

By	D. Russell Lyman, Ph.D. (Needham, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain (Hardcover)

I was a skeptic. After many years of spending thousands of dollars and countless hours with medical doctors and chiropractors, I could not believe that changing the way I thought about my pain could help me conquer the crippling spasms that had wracked my life for nearly 20 years. I had tried special exercises, surgical consults, CAT scans, and powerful medications- nothing could take away those episodes that left me in agony, tilting to one side as if severely wounded. These spasms attacked me repeatedly, leaving me incapacitated for weeks and months.

What I discovered through the Back Sense approach, was that the cure lay in three areas: The first, and most important, is the awareness that I should not fear the pain as something that was about to cripple me as it had done in the past. Nor should I react by favoring my back or avoiding normal activities that I worried might have strained it in the past. Finally, root causes of the pain invariably were in how I managed my own feelings, especially stress, worry, and sometimes anger.

I am now free of spasms, and no longer worry about my back. I urge you to read this book.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I found answers in this book, August 10, 2001

By	"garons" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain (Hardcover)

When it seemed that nobody had any answers for me, I found them in this book. For close to a year I had been experiencing debilitating back and hip pain. I am a very active person, and in addition to suffering from the constant pain, I was beginning to become severely depressed as the level of my physical activity decreased. The book was able to provide answers to my questions as to what was happening to me, and also provide a method for reducing the pain and learning to deal with the causes. Neither of which had been forthcoming from doctors or physical therapists.

The book was easy to read and very simply laid out. The reasoning behind their recommendations appeared to be based on good science, and the scientific references that they provided added to the credibility of the statements. I also liked the fact that they emphasized the need for going through the usual diagnostic tests. The authors are then able to provide reasons for the pain and ways to work to reduce the pain and "get your life back". Most specialists will admit that surgery for a herniated disc will not reduce the pain. However, it seems that many doctors can provide their patients with no further direction or assistance.

The book made so much sense - and it has turned my life around. I would recommend it for anyone who has chronic back pain (or for that matter, any muscular/nerve-based pain). The same philosophy could be applied to any part of the body. I rate this book very highly