8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back (Remember When It Didn't Hurt)

***** All of our lives we are taught to "stand up straight" and to have good posture, but how many of us still have back problems, knee problems, foot problems, and chronic pain despite our best efforts? If this is you (and it is me) then this book is for you. It is my belief that the author's ideas about posture, movement, sitting, sleeping, etc. could very well revolutionize conventional wisdom about posture, movement, and more. How is this possible? At the most basic level, you can buy this book and not even read it, but just look at the many diagrams, photographs of people modeling healthy behaviors, and most importantly, stunning photographs of people from other countries. The latter--the people from third world countries especially--where good posture is taught and modeled and passed down through the family, rather than via books, or visits to an orthopedic surgeon's office, or Pilates lessons--these are exceptionally revealing. Look at the pictures of how people in these countries hold themselves, and view the arduous work they do all day, and then note the incidence of back pain and other chronic pain they experience from their work. This alone will impress you. These photographs alone are worth the price of the book. If you are interested, you can try to do the posturing yourself. It is very simple, but it is not easy, because of the way our culture has changed over the years. Conventional wisdom no longer teaches us how to care for our bodies; in fact, the opposite is true. Here in our industrialized society, poor habits are the norm. Even popular "posture" practices teach one or another person's ideas and theories, rather than looking at how people have moved (and still move, in most cases) throughout history. If you struggle to achieve the positions from just looking at the visuals, as I did, then you can go to the author's site at egwellness dot com. Here you will find many resources, including free classes in many locations and free online classes for those people who wish to learn in this way. In addition, there are paid group classes and even paid private classes. The visual and kinesthetic support is very helpful. For those people who need "see it" to learn, you can. For those who need to "do it" to learn, you can. If you are motivated, you can do these exercises as a practice, as I have begun to do. I am (as I write) taking an in-person beginner class because I learn by seeing AND doing. Just in a couple of days I have felt so much relief and hope that I plan to do this for a significant period of time; as I develop my practice, my body will begin to change to the point where the positions will eventually be automatic. It is important to understand that no significant change can come without hard work; however, for those of us who have spent hundreds or even thousands of dollars pursuing other methodologies and solutions without success, you need to know that there is hope and that this is it. The chapters are organized into lessons, starting with some foundations and an orientation. Then there are 8 lessons: Stretchsitting, Stretchlying On Your Back (e.g., in bed), Stacksitting, Stretchlying On Your Side, Using Your Inner Corset, Tallstanding, Hip-Hinging (e.g., bending down to pick up an object), and Glidewalking. There are additional exercises and many more resources in the back of the book. Readers should also know that many of the examples contradict various ideas promulgated in our culture about what good posture is. Thus, you should have an open mind. However, the positions in the book are not theoretical or ideas you need to accept on faith because all of the evidence necessary to understand what is behind the positions is in the book itself; it is merely reinforced when you try to do the positions and experience the change for yourself. If you are still uncertain, go to the web site mentioned above as well as to YouTube and search for the author's name and watch the videos that are available by many people on YouTube. This is a beautiful, elegant book filled with color photographs that you will not regret buying, whatever your level of interest. Highly recommended. *****

I went online to buy Peter Egoscue's book "Pain Free" (which I also bought). I'd like the thank the kind reviewer in that forum who recommended this book instead. I just got it today and, while I haven't really completed any exercises yet, have already skimmed through the whole thing and tried the first exercise, at least. So you know, I am a body worker and have studied yoga as well. First, this is a beautiful book. There are many color photos of people from around the world with natural posture. They provide an inspiration to try the exercises, and they show how beautiful the relaxed, unaffected human body can be. Second, this book addresses fundamental causes, not bandaid solutions. I do an hour or more of stretching and self-massage daily, but still have tightness and back pain. I tried yoga which helped some things but made other things worse. Every other book I have seen has given a lot of strengthening and stretching exercises - there's not time in the day to do them all, and it's discouraging when you do them but your daily life just negates all that hard work. This book addresses how you carry your body and move in daily activities so (in theory) you don't need exercises long term. Third, the book gives very clear instructions on how to improve your posture and movement in a carefully sequenced fashion. Many people/books have told me I need to improve my posture, by "tucking my tailbone in or out," "holding my thoracic spine straight," or "keeping my head high." What they don't understand is that if I hold my head high, for example, my back is so crooked it's very uncomfortable, the weight of my body goes straight to my low back. Better books caution against trying to hard to force a "correct" posture, but don't give guidance on how to achieve good posture if you don't already have it. This book gives clear, easy to follow exercises which are sequenced so that you work on first things first, and progress over time. This approach instinctively feels right to me. I agree with the author's assessment of what an ideal, healthy body should look like. I have traveled a lot. Many people in Africa and SE Asia have a natural ease in their bodies; that is exactly what I am looking for for myself, but have not known how to achieve. (Note, however, that, contrary to what the book implies, not all people in non-industrial countries are free from back pain - I have heard from farmers in Western Africa and hotel workers in Thailand who complained about back pain in spite of their excellent posture - even "traditional" people are susceptible to overuse and overload injury). I am looking forward to working through the exercises and seeing if they benefit me. Note, not everyone will be able to do all the exercises right away. In some cases, you may be too stuck and need therapy to help you unstick before you start (massage, PT, yoga). Perhaps that could have been explained more in the text - in those cases I think it would be great to get that therapy while gently working through what you can with your therapist on board. As a bodyworker, I think the combination of receiving serious structural bodywork (such as Rolfing or Thai bodywork) and simultaneously working through this book would be very effective. The key is not to force exercises you cannot do easily and comfortably. If you have a structural injury, the author recommends working with your doctor to see what you can do safely. This book is not a panacea, of course, also - will it cure every pain? I doubt it. But for $14 and change, for people who can read through the exercises and apply them; are willing to make some changes in their life and interested in this kind of thing, I think it is a phenomenal value. (In comparison - a decent massage session in Washington, DC costs about $120-160, and the effects usually last a few days). In addition to people with tight muscles, restricted breathing, or back pain, I would recommend this book to another group: new parents, especially mothers! It gives minimal information on what to do, but - at least it raises the idea that how you carry and handle your child is an ergonomic issue both for YOU (reducing bodily strain) and for YOUR CHILD (developing their body). I would love to see the author address this in a specialized book; all my friends with small children complain of back pain. My bodywork teacher in Thailand repeatedly notes how parents traditionally helped children develop healthy postures, but that Western or "modern" parents don't have this knowledge. This is exactly what is shown in the book.

First, I'm gonna start with my background. I've spent 25 working years of my 40 year old life, in labor intensive, outdoor, on concrete, making a living. Since the late 80's, thanks to Dell pc's, I have had a pc to slump over, for many hours as well. About 15 years ago, I started noticing a numby, tingly sensation down my left leg. Saw my first ever chiropractor and he took xrays. He said I had some birth defect visible and some degeneration or a thin disk. Said with several treatments to mobilize my lower spine that was trying to fuse up, it should get rid of the sensations. About a month later, he was right it was gone. Since then I've led a pretty active, busy, life. However I have for years gotten some flare up inflammation around left low back/si joint area. Usually stretching will help it within a matter of dsys. About 4 months ago, I have started going to the gym, to do my physical job better, feel better and maybe less achey/sore than I should feel at 40 years old. 4 weeks ago my old left low back/si area again inflammed up, so my wife suggested I might be interested in some of her yoga routine. She has had back problems for years and she bends over like pretzel with this yoga stuff, so I said sure my flexibility is horrible. I did a few days of yoga stretches, and finally, one night, I couldn't even sleep my low left back was hurting so bad, didn't matter what position I took, I couldn't get comfortable. I went to doctor, got some anti inflammatories, and muscle relaxors to help at night. Asked for P/T and a new mri to see if I had really damaged something or if something was worse. Mri showed pars defect at L5, I believe that was my birth defect issue, plus a hemongloma (benign tumor at L5) Spondylolysis at L5-S1, mild DDD changes at L5-S1 with mild assymmetric left disc bulge and left face hypertrophy resulting in mild left foraminal stenosis at L5-S1. Basically what I got out of that is degenerative disc or drying out of discs at l5-s1, now bulging some, some narrowing of nerve tunnel from arthritis so now nerve is getting a slight pinch, causing some pain on low left of back at 40 years old, unbelieveable. I have spent a couple year working with trigger point therapy work on getting rid of plantar fascitis in left foot. P/T just wanted to stretch and stretch left calves and hams, but the problem was I was loaded with trigger points which stretching made worse. I take all kinds of multivitamins/ supplements, try to eat right, not over weight, don't smoke, and have been working out and strengthening my core, why am I having back problems. Well Doc said if P/T didn't work she'd send me to a neuro surgeon. I don't even want to think about that at 40 years old. My dad had numberous fusions, wirings, you name it in the 60's and he was never GOOD again, just pills to help him get by. I don't want that. I looked around and found Esthers book here on Amazon, and all the reviews. I saw other stuff on the internet too, like Ebooks for back relief and pain, excercises, and tucking your pelevis. I tucked my pelvis for a week and a half until Esthers book showed up and she says no, you shold not be doing that. Unbelievable, one person says do this, another video says no that's bad do this. I also ordered her DVD, at the same time. I have now had both for one week. I wish I could tell you, that I'm flying up out of bed and screaming Hooray, I'm Healed, lol. But, I can't, but being honest here, when you have spent most of your life working hard physically, as in back bent over type work for much of the day, in my case 25 years, plus, bad habits, (not knowing better) and a little stupidity when I was younger, you aren't gonna get HEALED in a day, a week, or a month. But, if I can stop the further damage as of this point now, and begin a slow process of reversing the pain, bringing back activities I have had to shut down, and restore some damaged tissue/disc with healthy tissue, I will try it. I have read this book, I just finished last night, and I've watched the dvd once. As I said, I am also back in P/T. I don't know third world civilization and their habits, but this book shows a lot of smart ways to use your body, and back. Critics might say this book is just about posture or posture can't cure all. I will say this, I was never really shown much or taught to bend over at the hips, I've always bent over and worked for long hours with a rounded back. Then I've spent many hours hunched forward and over a computer. Esther even talks about this in her book, we as western civilization have tons of back problems because of this, I didn't know any better. Sure I've tried to replay what mom use to say, "sit up straight", puff my chest out, arch my back, tuck my pelvis, hike my shoulders, suck my gutt in, geeese, like a manicun, and it was all wrong. I asked my P/T the other day, if he could show me the proper way to bend over, because I don't know, my body just can't do it right. He showed me almost verbatum what Esther does in this book with hip hinging, the back is straight, the hamms get a stretch, I practiced for a half hour and I started to get a little feel for it. I am doing the stretch sitting right now on the cushion I just got yesterday, in a foldup chair, my back is more comfortable than my big lazy boy chair I sat in last night while eating dinner. I have been doing the stretchlying at night while I sleep. I also bought a knee pillow because I can only really sleep on my side and since my knees are bony, it is uncomfortable to stack my knees on top of another. This is all taking some time to get use to, I'm waking like clock work about every 2 hours, maybe the knee pillow shifted, maybe my body is telling me I need to reposition to stretchlying again, don't know but I'm all for giving it a try. My chiropractor uses a traction table so I understand Esthers principle and it makes sense to me. So much of her book is not rocket science really, it does make sense, and several of the excercises also I have either done or at least a variation, make sense as well. Many people, as I did, think working your core means, more crunches. I said I started a gym 4 months ago, that's what the trainer taught me along with planks. Crunches, are nice, but their not doing a thing for your deep transverse abs for the spine. So again, bad habits, I thought I was doing what I was suppose to. I've also upped my glucosamine/chondroiten intake, fish oil omega 3 and vitamin c for inflmmation. It's nice to find a book with great pics and descriptions to tell people to help undo some of the bad habits they have and hopefully get on with life again with a healthy back/body. I will update in a few months after I have more practice, time with her techniques and see how my activities and pain level respond. Right now I say, deffinitely recommend the book, just on good knowledge of posture, correct excercise technique and understanding of what bad habits are doing to your back and body. UPDATE #1 (1 month) Right now, I feel better than I did one month ago. In the beginning, I couldn't sleep at night from my back discomfort/pain. I had to take 5 weeks off of work, and I just started back light duty last week. The pain in my back is not gone, but it was a 6-7 on a scale of 10, and now a 2-4. The 2 is generally early in the day, and the 4 is late in the day, I think that's just part of DDD. I do the sleep stretching everynight in bed, plus I use a knee pillow to since I'm a side sleeper. I was waking up every 2 hours like clockwork, now it's about 3 hours, not for pain, I sleep without pain now, it's just to readjust myself and roll over to sleep stretch. I just finished P/T, and everyday, probably for the rest of my life, I will work on my stretches/excercises to help with the back. When at home, I sit in this stretch sit cushion at the computer, and don't get any back pain or stiffness, where as a regualr chair after a while I would. I am hoping for continued improvement and diminishing discomfort. It takes a lifestyle change, posture change, dedication to excercises/stretching, and I think the additional techniques in this book are complimenting that. I will update again around 3 months.

Correcting a lifelong habit of slouching is really difficult for me. Mostly I've been dealing with the pyschological problems that caused me to slouch in tht first place. For the first couple of days I tried to do everything in the book and my back was screaming. Of course the author advises against this strongly. So it wasn't her fault, I was just overly excited. Then I thought to hell with this, I'll just slouch. Then a couple days later I thought well that hasn't gotten me anywhere. So slowly for the past 3 weeks or so I've been working on it as much as I can remember and the pain is starting to subside. I may have a herniated disk but that pain has diminished significantly. Now the pain is more in my upper back so I'm working on pulling my shoulders back and keeping my breastbone lifted and my chin parallel to the ground. Well anyway the book, the book is very thorough almost irritatingly so. I don't like how they blurred out the "don't" faces, that's freakish. But it helps to see what sitting up straight, standing up straight etc. really look like. I recommend this book highly. I definitely think our society encourages poor posture and this is causing the back pain epidemic. Now if I can just get my daughter to hold herself upright, and she's 5, this is terrible.

This book was recommended in the personal finance forum I frequent along with the video of Esther's presentation at the Googleplex. I first watched the video and found it convincing; it was consistent with what I have observed when traveling in developing countries. Esther's delivery was intelligent and credible; she was providing logical useful information without holding back or selling. Buying a book after that was an easy decision. I had high expectations for the book, and still when it has arrived it impressed me with its design and beauty. It reminded me of the praise we impart on Steve Jobs: superior user interface, attention to detail, pursuit of the truth in the midst of the mass delusion. Esther too has the courage to go against some common myths such as tucking the pelvis in and swaying the back. She is very convincing in explaining the dangers of these habits and illustrating her statements with numerous examples from the Eastern and Western cultures, from the past and the present, from small children and from practitioners of certain crafts. After reading the introductory chapter I knew that stumbling on Esther and her work was more rewarding than hitting a jackpot. After that the real work has started. The thing about this book is that it does require work, but this work is immensely satisfying, because you are finally working on correcting the results of years of poor posture and exercise habits. You see the images of people holding their bodies well and poorly, you become expert in discerning the difference, and you want to be among those who hold well. Each exercise is easy once you master it, but it takes careful reading, practice, and rereading to get it right and to do it right. Esther helps you with each step on the way. She starts with a broad background of how a particular position or movement is used and includes a wide variety of illustrations. She then describes each step in great detail using words, photographs, illustrations, and diagrams. Esther extensively supplements the "positive" information of how to do things with "negative" information on how not to do them and common pitfalls. And then with Steve Jobesque attention to detail she provides additional hints on fine-tuning the exercise, locating a normally neglected muscle, using little tricks for ensuring that one is not swaying. After the description of an exercise is complete, additional nuances are discussed, and they too prove remarkably useful, even if a few pages ago you had an impression that you had learned everything. The final part of each exercise section is a summary of the moves, very useful once you have learned the move and need quick reminders. The eight steps provide a comprehensive guide to the life of your posture. Two of them teach you how to sit, two of them are about lying in bed. One is on standing, one is on walking, one is on tightening chest muscles in preparation to exertion, and one is on bending. I cannot think of anything missing. The appendices with exercises for building various muscles are the icing on the cake. Let me repeat that the book does require work. But this may be the most important work you will do for your body. One's spine is one's backbone; when the backbone does not work everything else is pretty futile. Get the book, read it, practice the steps, and enjoy your improving posture.

I've had weak core muscles for years and mild scoliosis, and have tried various exercise videos and always suffered more and different pain from doing the exercises than I had before. (See which back pain books have five stars, and those are the ones I have read and tried. I won't detract them here.) By showing proper posture in people from many different cultures, Esther Gokhale undeniably convinces the reader that there are better ways to bend, sit, and stand. I've been using her ideas in her book for five weeks now in combination with exercises from my physical therapist. He glanced through the book and said, "Yeah, bracing [using the inner corset] is what we tell everyone to do all the time." I haven't felt this good in years. I think the combination of PT and this book is what helped me, and I am grateful to our Lord for bringing this book to my attention when He did. If you only get one back pain book or posture book, make it this one. (Anyone want to buy some slightly used copies of ......... [the many books I have bought that only helped some, or didn't help at all]?) **** Five months later, an update: Daily I've been doing a few of my physical therapy exercises along with many exercises in the appendix of this book. I alternate exercises of samba on one day (see Quenia Robiero's cardio samba DVD The Cardio Samba Workout ) and T-Tapp basic workout on the other day. The samba workout is fantastic for strengthening the inner corset, and the warm up section is just exactly what I need to do. What about 8 Steps? What I use daily (honestly): Stacksitting (due to my inner corset being SO MUCH stronger, this has become easy), Stretchlying on My Side (everytime I turn over at night, I re-adjust), Using my Inner Corset, and Hip Hinging. What don't I use? I don't use stretchsitting typically because I don't sit in chairs that make this easy, and I'm not bringing a special cushion or jacket with me, especially when the jacket would slide right down the back in a slick material chair (wood, plastic). I don't use stretchlying on the back because I'm only on my back to do exercises; I never could get to sleep on my back. I don't use tall standing as written - I do stand with my hips in the proper position and I am standing straight, but I don't arrange my feet or twist out my thighs from the hips. I don't do glidewalking as written. I do use my buttock muscles to push off each step but that's it. I posted a video on Mrs. Gokhale's forum and became quite disheartened about my poor form according to the expert reviewing my video. So now I just walk how it feels good. My favorite things from this book in order: Hip-hinging (feels great and I needed my hamstrings to become looser), inner corset, and stacksitting. It's still the best posture book I've ever seen. What about the special cushion the author sells? I bought it and used it on a 4.5 hour drive, twice in a weekend, and this made the drive tolerable whereas before I would have been in extreme discomfort. I do keep it in the car since the chairs in our house are recliners (too caved in) or the kitchen chairs where I just stacksit. ****** Update after two years ***** Feeling (mostly) pain-free is lovely. Since I last wrote, my knees have hurt me due to improper walking technique (it was difficult for me to learn her walking style from a book). Because of pain in my knees, I have given up trying to glidewalk. I think I finally got the mechanics of it - and it feels glorious - but maybe due to my scoliosis (one hip is one inch higher than the other) or maybe I didn't master the technique - my knees would hurt throughout the day after walking. So, for now, I walk only a bit to allow my knees to heal fully then I'll go back to my old way of walking which hurt my feet (no win situation!) If Esther's class should come near my home, perhaps I would attend for the walking. The glidewalking did seriously shape up the gluteus medius muscles! Other developments: due to the knee pain I did only stretching exercises, planks, things like that (no samba). On PBS (public tv), I found a great way to get my core stronger, which helps me to feel even better and more healthy and strong than I thought possible. The teacher of "Classical Stretch," Miranda Esmonde-White, does bend her back which goes against what Esther teaches (as far as I can tell). However, Esmonde-White seems to do it in a safe manner. It has helped me tremendously, adding to what I learned from Esther's book and her exercises in the back, and I wanted to share it with you in case it may help you (that's why I'm writing this update). How do I sit? Kitchen- stack sit on a bag of rice, in a pretty fabric sack. Den - lean back against two pillows on a firm sofa. Church - lean back, it's only for 1.5 hours. Other chairs - lean back unless it's for a long time, then I'll stack sit for a change of pace on a fleece jacket. If I can, I get up to move around some or I'll get uncomfortable in typical "public seating" chairs. As of a few months ago, I can now kneel in church without back pain, even during the longest prayers, and I can stand for a much longer period without back pain, and I can even sit on the floor with my legs straight out and my back straight, in comfort, for a pretty long time! Hip-hinging has gotten much better since I started Classical Stretch - I can now pull weeds without my shoulders dropping down, with my legs straight, my back straight, and bending at the hips (hooray for flexible hamstring muscles!). I wish you well on your journey toward better health. I share what has worked for me and what hasn't so that it may possibly help you. Be sure to be patient with your body, it's only matter and muscles get stronger a little bit at a time. Baby steps!

I purchased his book, for several reasons. I have suffered from lower lumbar back pain for 40 years. Forty years ago, the Veterans Administration Hospital strongly recommended surgery. And meanwhile provided grocery bags of pain killers. But I also lived and worked in an African village for two years. I knew Esther was on the right track. The functional posture and strength of both men and woman in the tribe in which I lived, was awesome. Esther's photographs beautifully capture the functional strength and poise that I witnessed many years ago. I bought this book with great hopes. Sadly, some of the ideas in this book only injured my back further. But I can also say the same for the dozens of "back books" and seminars which I have read or attended over forty years. Whether the subject is Tai Chi, Yoga, or Pilates, I always find that some exercises seem to help, but there are unhappily always a few exercises that do further injury. And there is the rub. I am also amazed that Esther does not show the ancient "village squat." This is a glaring omission. A westerner can not live, or travel, in the 3rd world and not observe the ease and frequency with which villagers - young and old - can assume the village squat. Generally, Westerners just can't seem to squat like this for any length of time. I am mystified that this functional and popular position is not captured in her photographs. I would love to see Esther take her beautiful - but beginning research - a step further. Thankfully, I eventually found right here - at Amazon - some back books and DVD's which have given me relief from back pain for the first time in 40 years - as well as a new found ability to run and ice skate again. Admittedly, my search was a long journey, but I found the best self help yet in the books and DVD's of Peter Egoscue. Book by book, I became so impressed with the results, that I eventually bought every book and DVD Peter has written or produced. My back problems are largely confined to the lower lumbar area, due to injuries sustained in Vietnam in 1970. Ironically, Peter Egoscue is also a Vietnam veteran who sustained injuries while on duty. Peter embarked on his own search to heal himself. What a marvelous, simple and sound approach he has pioneered. Not one of Peter egoscue's procedures has ever caused my back further injury or pain! In response to the one negative comment I received, may I affirm and clarify that my back injuries are serious - due to substantial injuries sustained in Vietnam. I do recognize that many other people will be well served by Esther's exercises. But, I also wish to extend a hopeful hand to those whose injuries are severe, life long, and who so far may have found only partial or intermittent help with the many modalities of back treatment that have developed over the past 40 years. In addition, to the books and DVD's I recommended above, I now wish to one more book that I earlier withheld - due to its price. "Rehabilitation of The Spine: A Practitioner's Manual" by Craig Liebsenson. Available here on Amazon. Yes, the price is edgy! But this book is a must have for anyone who experiences chronic and severe back difficulties. A magnificent and clearly articulated review of all of the current treatment modalities available in the mainstream as well as the alternative medical fields today. Pay attention to what Dr Vladimir Janda is doing to treat patients in Czechoslovakia. Ok. A couple years later, and I wish to add another writer, especially for those persons with serious injuries - sports related or work related. I discovered the fellow who has co-authored more than 300 clinical published studies on the back and spine. He is a fountainhead of knowledge for trainers and rehab experts alike. He is quoted by the best of the best trainers regularly. Two of his books - directed toward the medical professional --- are available here on Amazon. "Low Back Disorders" and "Ultimate Back Fitness & Performance" by Stuart McGill, PhD. His research methods are exquisite. He busts more fitness myths than any writer I have yet read - and he does this with science based data, much of it derived from his own labs. I must caution that he writes to the trainer and rehab audience. But his writing is extremely clear to me, a lay person. Nearly every page in the first half of book, "Low Back Disorders," is filled with lab evidence as to why so much of what your coach, your drill instructor, your fitness guru, and / or the muscles mags are saying is simply dangerous or wrong. This half steers you away from incredibly dangerous , but popular routines. That knowledge alone is worth a lot. As you will recognize in all of his books and DVD's, Dr Stuart McGill works with the highest performing world class athletes. He also publishes two DVD's which I have not found here on Amazon. Once again, good luck with your own search for back health. Added, Sep 11, 2016 Are you folks aware that Dr Stuart McGill has finally released a new book. His first book in his 30+ year career, now intended to help the lay person? Everyday folks. Having read all of Dr McGill's books and watched all of his DVD's -- which are geared toward the professional, I can now say that this new book, "Back Mechanic" is the best written and edited, the best produced and best illustrated of all his books. I presented a copy of this book to an attending Physician at the local Veteran's Medical Center, Department of Rehabilitative medicine. I told her I might recommend this book to other veterans. But first would like to hear her own opinion. Do you think these ideas will case any harm? Do you think these ideas will help veterans? She got back to me, "I love it! It is so easy to read. So easy for the veteran to understand. I have received approval from the Department Director to make this book available to all of my veteran patients. We are now seeking the funding from the Education Department. It was released just recently. Available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Back-Mechanic-Dr-Stuart-McGill/dp/0973501820 Most importantly, for the first time Dr McGill has included a self diagnosis procedure, so that every day persons can hopefully determine the major causes and/or sources of their back pain. The book covers rehabilitation remedies that address each particular diagnosis. I can say that having read all of his prior books and learned so much, I am now learning even more in this beautiful edition. The illustrations are clear and extensive. Once again, Stuart McGill dispels so many sports rehabilitation myths and legends. He lays bare many surprising details that are truly harmful to a healthy back. And describes in detail the way back to real recovery. I am only a bit more than 1/2 way through it. I deliberately set a slow pace. Stopping to try out his techniques and his self diagnosis strategies. We are fortunate to have the wisdom of this man who has spent decades in his research laboratory as well as his rehabilitation facility. He has worked with the world's top elite athletes for all of these decades, as well as everyday folks who are injured. This book may become the classic in its field. The starting place. I will may write a review and post it when I have finished reading the entire book. Good luck.

I'm a 40+ female and I've had several decades of back and neck pain. As an avid equestrian for 15+ years I had also taken several falls over those years with my most severe fall resulting in a concusion, torn disks and a fractured vertabrae. It would be unfair to blame my back problems just on riding as I spent long hours at a desk. I've seen chiropractors, neurosurgeons, physiatrists, acupuncturists, massage therapists with limited relief. I've had injections, physical therapy and just about every supplement, anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxant, neurological suppresant or pain med you could think. My MRIs show torn disks, arthritist, stenosis, a fractured vertebrae, mild kyphosis and scoliosis, just to name a few. In other words my back was a wreck and I was in some form of pain 24 hours a day. My pain had gotten so bad that pain meds couldn't touch it. I had to give up riding and any form of exercise because if I walked or stood for more than 15 minutes the pain often became so bad I had to lay down for hours. I had chronic numbness and pain in both arms and legs and in my shoulders, neck and head when things were really bad. Often my back felt like it was on fire. I did find that trigger point massage helped me so I do recommend it, but invariably my muscles would go back into large tight knots. I had purchased Esther's book and tried a few things half-heartedly but thought a posture book can't help someone as bad off as me. I was just about to give in and have my neck fused as my surgeon had recommended, but when he told me that the neck fusion wouldn't fix the numbness and pain in my legs and that I would probably require a second surgery something inside me said don't do it. I thought I'm too young to do so much surgery on my back, but I also knew that I couldn't continue to go on in the pain I was in. In December, 2011, I pulled out Esther's book again and slowly and carefully started applying the concepts. I thought maybe I could get a little pain relief while I tried to figure out which doctor or treatment option I should try next. I did not expect to get any significant relief. Esther's book proved me wrong. Intitally I just did stretch sitting in my car and my 1 and 1/2 hour commute became much more comfortable. So I started stretch lying on my side and trying to stretch sit at work as well. Intially I had to do a lot of repositioning as I'd slumped back into my old curled up posture but I often found minutes where my whole back relaxed and stretched out. When you've been in chronic pain to some degree for years it was stunning to me to experience this at all. Then I started adding in working on my inner corset. To my surprise I was actually starting to feel better. I couldn't believe that I was actually finding pain relief from a book. Now I am certainly not 'cured' but I've gone from being in chronic pain 24/7 that would go as high as an 8 on a 1 to 10 scale to having my pain level sit around a 2 the majority of the day. I've gotten enough relief after 6 weeks that I'm actually starting to believe that I might not need surgery and that I may be able to go back to an active life. You can get direct relief and help from this book. I did, a lot of relief. After spending thousands of dollars on doctors and treatments with limited relief, it is pretty ironic that it was a book (how much more low cost and low tech can you get) that has given me the biggest relief. Just as important as the physical relief I am experiencing is the mental relief of having less pain and knowing how to help myself. I was so impressed with the results from the book that I signed up to take a class with Esther. She is a wonderful and gifted instrutor and she helped me figure out the nuances that I was missing. I highly recommend taking a class with Esther but don't think you have to take her class to get help. You can get it from the book. If you buy this book and apply these concepts I believe you will reduce your pain and potentially dramatically like I have. My advice is don't push for too much progress at once. If it hurts, check your position and adjust or just back off. You didn't develop a problem overnight and you can't fix it overnight. I made rapid progress just by doing little things and reading and re-reading the book and checking and re-checking my form. I tried to focus on one or two concepts in a week, not all of them at once. I actually found that I did better when I didn't try too hard which usually resulted in rigid muscles which increased my pain. Build from small steps of success. When you start to get tired or things start aching go do something else. The flipside is that you do have to be consistent in trying to apply the concepts, you don't however, want to be aggressive with your body. I'm only about 6 weeks in and I can't believe how much better I feel. I'll post in about 6 months with an update. I think this book is a critical component to recovering from and preventing back pain. I wish you success in finding relief from your pain.

Ich habe mich 25 Jahre lang gekrümmt - weil meine Beckenstellung falsch war. Ich kann dieses Buch nur empfehlen! Anhand von Beispielen aus der natürlichen Haltung von Kleinkindern, oder auch aus der gesunden natürlichen Haltung indigener Völker, wie man stehen, laufen, sitzen und sogar liegen soll. Es öffnet einem die Augen für die in unserer modernen Gesellschaft allgegenwärtige Fehlhaltung - selbst bei vielen Sportlern! Mein Huckel schwindet und ich habe nie mehr Rückenschmerzen. Ein Muss, dieses Buch!

The book is an outstanding work in terms of research related to the role of posture causing back pain and the solution in terms of simple steps.

Me ha gustado mucho. Estoy haciendo el curso y es un apoyo indispensable. Es un libro que me gustará conservar cerca para consulta hasta integrar todo lo que propone sobre buena postura, sentados, de pie o tumbados. Me encanta y lo recomiendo 100%. una cosa: Me compré la traducción en castellano y lo tuve que devolver, porque no entendía muchas frases, eran raras, raras....

Ever since an unfortunate back surgery 38 years ago I have had to live with its effect on my spine. Despite my problems I managed to remain pretty active and athletic until a 1990 injury in a car accident started everything unravelling. Nothing I have ever found in my years of attempting to regain lost functioning has done as much for me as has already happened in the short time I have been trying to apply what I have been learning from Esther Gokhale's deceptively simple seeming but absolutely brilliantly insightful book. What she teaches does not require immense amounts of time to implement. In fact it quickly can become part of one's ordinary life and activities so that whether walking or sitting or even sleeping it is as if the body's extraordinary healing power is finally released to benefit us unimpeded. Last night I managed to walk around the block without stopping and at a reasonable pace for the first time in over six years (on previous attempts severe spasms in my lower back would force me to stop part way and make it difficult for me even to remain upright). I also had injured my knee a few weeks ago to the point that I had increased difficulty walking even short distances within the house. To my surprise (at what a miraculous difference it made) Ms. Gokhale's advice on walking gave more lasting relief to my knee as well as helping my back than I had managed even with trigger point therapy. I have already purchased four copies and undoubtedly will purchase more. I want to give it to everyone I see (if I could only afford to do this) who has any problems walking or sitting or sleeping due to back or neck problems or with back or neck pain. I cannot praise it enough. It is more than a book, it is like a gift of life.

The advice in this publication has helped me immensely. Would recommend to all even if they don't have a back problem yet.