I heard some good things about this book, so I decided to check it out.
8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back: Natural Posture Solutions for Pain in the Back, Neck, Shoulder, Hip, Knee, and Foot (Remember When It Didn’t Hurt) by Esther Gokhale is a book with 8 lessons to help the reader eliminate and prevent back and neck pain. The book is full of color photos to assist with each lesson.
I will say that a few of the chapters could have provided more detail in explaining the movement (Tallstanding, Glide Walking). However, I did grasp the core message this book offered and that is that modern man needs to lengthen the spine as much of our pain comes from spinal compression. Think about how rounded your back is when driving in a car, sitting at a desk, or even after standing for long periods. This book details why the normal advice to stand up straight fails and how it can bring on a different type of back pain.
In the past two years, I have done lots of research on back pain and I promise to post completely on what I’ve learned. The lessons in this book complimented my understanding of posture induced back pain. Parents of infants will also find value in this book as it shows how baby strollers and seats put infants into spinal compression and what proper baby posture looks like.
Jillian
Nov 6, 2010 — 11:38 am
I have had back problems myself, and ended up needing physical therapy this year, because it got so bad.
It was amazing, as I would lay there doing my exercises, and listen to the therapist do the intake on new clients, that all these people kept coming in with injuries (to the back, arms, etc), due to their office job.
Which only reinforced that I need to get out of my office job! It’s sad though, that we are all stuck doing these things that are so bad for us. 🙁
MAS
Nov 6, 2010 — 11:47 am
@Jillian – This book does give lessons on how to sit for extended periods of time that protect the back. One tip is placing a towel or small pillow at the top center of the back of the chair. This widens your back, prevents slumping and spinal compression.
Gil
Nov 6, 2010 — 12:33 pm
See for me, the time my back hurts the least is sitting down at a computer. I have very bad back pain when standing up all day at my work.
Jillian
Nov 6, 2010 — 2:19 pm
I think another key is excess of one particular body movement/position. So standing too much causes problems (my mom got varicose veins that way). So does sitting. We’re evolved to do a variety of movements all the time. I know when I was a cashier and stood all day, that my back had problems too. But not as bad as sitting all day.
Ed
Nov 6, 2010 — 10:27 pm
I’ve only had lower back muscle spasms that have been really bad at times. The latest one was in july of ’09. I now do back stretches in the mornings and I also have an inversion table that I use too for posture. They both seem to help.