Do you have back, neck, or shoulder pain that keeps recurring or won’t go away? Does back pain keep you from living a full life? If so, you may be suffering from TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome)—and you don’t have to take it anymore!
Dr. John E. Sarno is a medical pioneer whose mind-body approach has helped patients overcome their back conditions—without drugs or dangerous surgery. After indentifying stress and other psychological factors in back pain, he demonstrates how many of his patients have then gone on to heal themselves without exercise or other physical therapy. With case histories and the results of in-depth mind-body research, Dr. Sarno describes how patients recognize the emotional roots of their TMS and sever the connections between mental and physical pain.
Healing Back Pain promises permanent elimination of back pain without drugs, surgery, or exercise. It should have been titled Understanding TMS Pain, because it discusses one particular cause of back pain–Tension Myositis Syndrome (TMS)–and isn’t really a program for self-treatment, with only five pages of action plan (and many more pages telling why conventional methods don’t work). According to John E. Sarno, M.D., TMS is the major cause of pain in the back, neck, shoulders, buttocks, and limbs–and it is caused not by structural abnormalities but by the mind’s effort to repress 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 a real physical disorder that may affect muscles, nerves, tendons, or ligaments. An injury may have triggered the disorder, but is not the cause of the amount or intensity of the resulting pain. According to Sarno, the mind tricks you into not facing repressed emotion by making you focus on pain in the body. When this realization sinks in (“and it must sink in, for mere intellectual appreciation of the process is not enough”), the trick doesn’t work any more, and there’s no need for the pain. (Healing Back Pain should not be used for self-diagnosis. Always consult a physician for chronic or acute back pain.) –Joan Price
Worth a look. I think this book will be most helpful for people who have been suffering with back pain for a long period of time (months to years). Most back pain lasts only a short time, and if it persists, you probably either have a really serious medical problem (that is usually obvious) or there are psychological factors involved.If you’ve been through the conventional medical system with your back pain for a long time with no satisfaction, have had many physical treatments (such as heat, massage, manipulation, etc.) with no relief, AND have had serious back pain issues ruled out, then I say it would be well worth your while to at least check out this book. While there are true physical causes of back pain that are not psychological, this book will make you think about any stress related issues that could be a part of your pain. Other self-help books I liked include . Good luck!
Didn’t happen overnight, but I feel a hundred times better now If you are suffering from chronic back pain on any level, this book is worth reading. Over the years I have tried almost every treatment available for my back pain. The end result always being more pain. I have spent thousands of dollars on “alternative treatments” with little to no success. I became addicted to prescription pain medication, doped up half the time feeling drunk and unaware, and in total pain the other half of the time.There two things that have saved me from basically jumping off a bridge. the first is a mix of herbs that have been used in other eastern cultures for hundreds of years for pain relief. Why the doctor’s first choice is to have me take Vicoden and not even make me aware that there is a natural alternative is beyond me. For a topical pain reliever, which is preferred since there is no risk of dependency, I’ve had a lot of luck with Warrior Mist, …