I'm always wary of people who feel the need to bandy their degrees around like he seems to- it's one thing to mention it on the front cover (it's a medical book, so I assume people want to know it's written by an M.D.); it's another to have it at the top of every other page.
I'm telling you, the guy has "crackpot" written all over him, but...
Also, what's his solution? If it's just bromides about treating the stress in my life, I don't need another one of those books. If there's some useful, applicable stuff, then I might look into it.
I've been fortunate that all my back problems have been intermittent, and obviously linked to stressful times. Nine times out of ten, putting a sheet of plywood under the mattress (or sleeping on the floor) for added support has been sufficient.
...and I suppose that makes me sound like a crackpot.
Mike, he doesn't actually propose the book as a solution; just an account of what he's found, after years of treating back pain. It's kind of nifty how reading it makes back pain go away for a lot of people.
Mmmmm, I dunno.
Personal experience, I had an extremely slipped cervical disk, surgery fixed it up great. It slipped out in my early 30's, very weird, maybe from an old football injury. That sucker hurt, BAD, but the Doc said if I toughed it out eventually the disk would absorb and the nerve would die and the pain would go away.
I wonder if some of the 'don't treat it' solutions are really just waiting for minor problems to resolve themselves?
In a way I'm glad mine was so severe because there wasn't much debate about surgery - I was going crazy from the pain and lack of sleep.
Agreed -- Sarno treated my brother (who'd had a horrible back for years) and helped him identify a psychological source for the problem. It was pretty miraculous.
For many not-so-serious causes of back pain, your natural urge to limit activity causes your back to stiffen up and makes it worse. So pushing through some pain and staying active improves your condition. The stuff going on in your head doesn't really enter into it.
You see the same thing with physical therapy--it's painful but it helps a patient improve.