Robert G. Watkins, III

Perhaps the single best medical self-help book I have ever read. I am 52 and disabled due to rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease. I have had periodic bouts of back pain for almost 40 years. I've seen lots of doctors and read lots of bad medical self-help books. If you suffer from chronic back or neck pain, the cost of this book may be the best $20 you have ever spent.

Most medical self-help books suffer from one of three major problems, all of which this books avoids. Like Goldilocks, most show more are either technical for the patient to understand without a medical background, or they are so simple and common knowledge, they are a waste of time and paper. This book hits the sweet-spot with lots of information that is written so an average reader can understand it.

Another major defect in self-help books that annoys me is that most consist of repetitive and boring examples of anecdotal patient histories that do not really give the reader any information. This book's anecdotal stories are used only when they help to explain and illustrate an example of a point being made in the book. These patient anecdotes are side-notes that you can read or easy skip if you aren't interested. Most other self-help books use endless and repetitive patient anecdotes as an attempt to convince the reader that the author is not as much of a "quack" as the reader suspects after reading the first dozen pages.

This is not a short-quick-magic bullet to fix all your problems with back pain. It is a fairly long book with tons of information, but it gives helpful information from the start. The more you read, the more information you get, but you don't have to read the entire book, memorize it, do all the examples, and turn your life up-side-down to find it very helpful.

I said at the start that I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. I have never found physical therapy nor chiropractic adjustments to be a major help with the pain from this degenerative autoimmune disorder. I am also very accident prone. For back and neck pain resulting from injuries, I have found both physical therapy and chiropractic adjustments to both be very helpful for pain resulting from injuries.

Many of the stretches and exercises shown in this book were familiar to me from physical therapy exercises I have been shown to do in the past. This book also avoids another common mistake made by most self-help books. The stretches and exercises that are suggested are appropriate for the audience reader. Too many books suggest exercises that might be appropriate for an gymnast that is training for the Olympics, but are impossible for an over-weight 50 year old that is having difficulty getting out of bed and feels as if his just been stabbed in the back by a Samurai sword whenever he tries tying his shoes. Some of the exercises in this book are very easy and simple, while others are more advanced. In general the easy ones are appropriate when you are in pain and trying to get better, while the more difficult exercises are for prevention of future back pain and injury.

Finally, this book also as a really exceptional chapter on the effect of work space ergonomics on shoulder, neck, and back pain. I've worked with computers since the dinosaur era of card punch machines and paper-tape punch teletypes were the standard workstation. I've installed and repaired PC systems for users and managed programmers and word processors that used CRTs for 8 to 12 hours per day. In a single, 18 page chapter, the authors compile the best advice I have ever seen collected on the proper workstation ergonomics to improve productivity and reduce strain and injury. Unlike many "experts" who insist that the only solutions are designer chairs, desks, keyboards, and mice, the authors explain simple changes that everyone can make to their PC setup to reduce reduce strain on a user's neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, and back. Even for home PC users that spend a few hours per day surfing, emailing, or playing games can find out how to set up everything for better ergonomics. This single chapter is worth the cost of the book for what is can save you when buying a single chair for PC use, by explaining why simple task chairs are better than more expensive desk chairs when using a PC. (Side note from me - For your home PC find a used office furniture dealer where you can often buy used "clerk/secretary" task chairs for $10 to $20. These will make your home PC far more "user-friendly" than trying to use a spare dinning room chair at your PC setup. A dollar bottle of rubbing alcohol and hand-full of paper towels will remove most coffee stains from used chairs available for even less.)

If you suffer from back pain see a doctor, physical therapist, or chiropractor before trying the exercises in this book. If doctors suggest back surgery, read this entire book (twice) before considering back surgery. I would like to thank the publisher and the LibaryThing Early Reviewer service for the copy of the book that I snagged. show less

As a woman in my twenties without chronic back pain, I was surprised by how useful this book was to me. It's a comprehensive overview of the anatomical and lifestyle-related causes and solutions to spinal pain, written very clearly and dense with information. It's aimed at people who have already seen a doctor for their spinal pain, or are considering it; the self-tests and explanations of various conditions seem to be aimed more at helping the patient identify their symptoms accurately than show more at self-diagnosis. As it turns out, I fit the description of "Postural Syndrome" (occasional pain caused by bad posture, most common in people under 30) pretty accurately, and the chapter outlined clearly how to determine which area of the spine is affected with exercises to help correct it. More serious and debilitating conditions are given the same thorough treatment. I was especially impressed with the emphasis put on lifestyle habits throughout the book to prevent spinal conditions from developing and alleviate existing ones.
All in all I think this is a great read for anyone just for its solid advice on taking care of your back to prevent pain in later life. For people with existing back problems, I think this is a good book to use in conjunction with treatment to be a well informed and proactive patient. show less

(disclaimer: I won a copy of this book from library thing's early reviewer program. That copy was stolen from my apartment building foyer, so I borrowed a copy from the library.)

An overview of back and neck pain, but mostly back pain. I like that this book is extremely comprehensive, and it tells you when to see a doctor, when to try to fix things yourself, and when to rush to the hospital. Back pain is extremely varied in its symptoms and causes and this book explains many of them.

As a show more frequent sufferer of lower back pain, I can relate to a lot of this book. I have had horrible doctors who have misdiagnosed me, and awesome doctors who got me to awesome physical therapists, and in between doctors who wrote a prescription and a referral. This book won't help solve the problem of bad doctors, but helps improve your ability to advocate for yourself as a patient, know what kind of treatment to expect, and have an idea of what to do on your own to try to help.

Very useful are the body mechanics suggestions, all of which have been recommended to me by my physical therapists. Also useful are the ergonomic workplace suggestions, and stretches. I will definitely be implementing some of the things I learned in this book into my office setup.

Well worth a read if you have or had suffered from back pain. show less

If you or someone you love experiences acute or chronic neck or back pain, you need to buy End Back & Neck Pain by Fortanasce, Gutkind and Watkins. It not only helps you understand your symptoms, distinguishing between those which can be improved with self-care and which need the expertise of a specialist, it also helps you determine the best doctor for your needs and how to interface with him or her. You will also learn what to expect if you need to have tests run or surgical procedures.

I show more wish this book had been available a few years ago when both my husband and I had to undergo months of suffering culminating in nerve block injections and painful therapies. The knowledge in this book would have relieved our anxiety and helped us avoid some unnecessary costs. The authors explain diagnosis and surgical procedures with both text and photos, and charts of what to expect after each phase of the process. They will give you the knowledge you need to be an informed patient, more fully involved in your care. The more you know, the less fear you have and the more able you are to cope with what is happening within your body and to you through treatment.

The book is divided into four parts: understanding your pain, minimizing or avoiding pain through self-care, choosing the best doctor and treatment when self-care is not enough, and understanding why advanced treatment such as spinal injections or surgery may be necessary. Throughout the book, the emphasis is upon helping you understand what pain is, how to avoid it, how to cope with it when it cannot be avoided and, when coping techniques are not enough, how to select and work with a surgeon.

What I was most impressed with is the amount of information in this book that empowers you to understand neck and back pain and how to understand the process that medical professionals use to help us cope with or heal the problems causing the pain. You learn about physical therapy, the usefulness of medications, adapting your environment to make movement easier, and surgical options that might be necessary when all else fails. Most importantly, you learn how diagnoses are made, how to describe your pain effectively and how to communicate with your physical therapist, primary care physician or specialist so they will more clearly understand your pain and be able to assist you in coping with or overcoming it.

The more you know, the better your chances are of achieving a pain-free life. The better you communicate based on that knowledge, the faster and more effectively your medical team can help you. This book is the key to achieving those goals. It is packed with clear explanations, charts, photos and checklists. If only I had had this book years ago, I could have saved myself and my husband from needless fear, pain and ineffective treatments. I would have known enough to understand what we needed, how to select the best doctor and physical therapy team and how to avoid re-injuring ourselves. At least now, thanks to Library Thing's Early Review program, I was lucky enough to read this book and am now armed with the knowledge to help myself and my husband in the future. show less