Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection

Amazon.com Review:
Healing Back Pain promises permanent elimination ofback pain without drugs, surgery, or exercise. It should have beentitled Understanding TMS Pain, because it discusses oneparticular cause of back pain--Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS)--andisn't really a program for self-treatment, with only five pages ofaction plan (and many more pages telling why conventional methodsdon't work). According to John E. Sarno, M.D., TMS is the major causeof pain in the back, neck, shoulders, buttocks, and limbs--and it iscaused not by structural abnormalities but by the mind's effort torepress emotions. He's not saying that your pain is all in your head;rather, he's saying that the battle going on in your mind results in areal physical disorder that may affect muscles, nerves, tendons, orligaments. An injury may have triggered the disorder, but is not thecause of the amount or intensity of the resulting pain. According toSarno, the mind tricks you into not facing repressed emotion by makingyou focus on pain in the body. When this realization sinks in ("and itmust sink in, for mere intellectual appreciation of the process is notenough"), the trick doesn't work any more, and there's no need for thepain. (Healing Back Pain should not be used forself-diagnosis. Always consult a physician for chronic or acute backpain.) --Joan Price

Product Description:
In "Healing Back Pain", Dr. John E. Sarno details how to overcome back pain without surgery, drugs, or exercise. Based on the latest research into TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome), this renowned doctor and author demonstrates how to relieve back pain caused by stress and other psychological factors. Throughout this invaluable guide, he shares the inspiring success stories of his patients who have virtually cured themselves using his methods, and helps readers understand:-- Why self-motivated and successful people are prone to TMS -- How anxiety and repressed anger trigger muscle spasms -- How people "train themselves" to experience back pain -- How to get relief from back pain within two-to-six weeks -- And more.

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Customer Reviews

Rating: - Too narrow minded of a view
I understand that sometimes back pain can be in your mind, but to attribute every type of back pain to always being in your head is a little far fetched.
Rating: - Life changer
I've read this book about 5 years ago, and didn't think about writing a review for it.Just now, as I was searching for something else, I came across this book and I had to write about it.

Five years removed from my first encounter with it, I can safely say that it was a life changer.Like many here, I was suffering from back pain for many years, and did the whole chiropractor/muscle relaxers/x-rays/physical therapy thing, only to have my back pain come back some time later.
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Rating: - Anti-depressants may cause back pain
This book was recommended to me during a time I suffered from severe back and neck pain. The pain went on for over a year. I went to see many doctors and physical therapists, and none of them mentioned the side-effect connection.Finally, a massage therapist brought it to my attention that the anti-depressants I was taking was causing the pain.I stopped them, and my pain went away. It blows me away that Dr. Sarno has written a book without considering any of the many, many causes of back pain. ... Read More
Rating: - Learning to read might be the first emotional problem to overcome
I was sort of amazed that at least five reviewers here knocked Dr. Sarno's book because they couldn't find a method in the book to follow. For example:

"I read it, and it didn't change a thing. And there is no description of the actual method."

"Sarno's book helped me understand the cause of my back pain, but I was left with no clear steps to take to get rid of the pain."

"Be warned -- there's no actual treatment plan in this book."

"He doesn't ... Read More
Rating: - It will take more than just reading it but it DOES WORK!
Some people say just reading it and they aren't "cured" It won't happen right away.. But it will happen you need to believe in it and give it a chance. I used this book years ago and it worked for me. Now I had another stressful event of being abandoned and lied to and yup here is the pain again. I had to reread the book and talk to my mind.. try and let out all the emotions I was holding back. It's getting better. You can tell. The pain moves around. 1st it was in my shoulder blade, then my neck ... Read More