Treat Your Own Back

Be careful.While the McKenzie Press-up is a tried and true technique in the treatment of back pain and back injury, this book can be dangerous to someone who is not doing the techniques under the supervision of a Physical Therapist. I've been living with a severe lower back injury for the last 5 years, and I've been to many different doctors and PTs. My injury can be debilitating at times, and has without question been the bane of my existence for a really long time. I've been forced out of teaching and practicing martial arts, lifting weights, and basically spending every evening in a gym. Anyone who has ever had a serious back injury can attest to the daily challenges, both physically and mentally, of trying to live a full life while constantly being pulled down by seemingly interminable pain and discomfort.I've seen a few Physical Therapists, and for the most part they've helped, but the only person who can truly prescribe the intensity and frequency of rehabilitation exercises for a patient is . . the patient. You have to listen to your own body and determine, on your own, how far you can go and how frequently you should exercise. I've re-injured myself over 20 times over the last two years while following the advice of my Chiropractors, Doctors, and various PTs. Each time I thought I was fully healed, I would go back to the gym and pick up weights or put on my Gi and try to get back into training. I was wrong every single time, and undid all of the healing and rehabilitation and had to start right back from the beginning. What this does to the confidence and mindset of someone who is used to getting thrown around a dojo or lifting weights is beyond frustrating. But, I'm dealing with it.Anyway, because of this, I decided to approach a self-therapy program along with my regular treatment. I've read almost every article on the internet I could find about Physical Therapy as it pertains to back and spinal injuries, and I've pored through countless medical journals and Physical Therapy blogs. I even keep a dated back/spine log on my PC with a weekly log of what I eat, how I train and how I feel, any setbacks, and whether I feel I'm progressing in my rehabilitation.In my research, I came across this book. Before buying it, I read many reviews from people on Amazon and a few other places, and, for the most part, the reviews were good, so I decided to add it to my rehabilitation and physical therapy bookshelf at home. The book is easy is to read, and the techniques are pretty straightforward and simple. They break it to down a few different variations of the McKenzie Press-up. Like I said, the McKenzie Press-up is a tried and true technique when it comes to dealing with back injuries. Of the myriad exercises I've learned over the last few years from the various PTs and doctors I've been to, the McKenzie Press-up seems to be the best one. If you're into Yoga, you'll recognize the McKenzie Press-up is also called The Cobra pose. It reverses the forward bending of the spine (which is the root of many spinal problems) and reduces the stress and tension in the vertebrae in the lower spine. It forces lower discs in the spine to go back into place, and it also keeps flexibility and mobility in the Spine as a whole. The first time I tried doing a McKenzie Press-up (probably about 3 years ago), I immediately felt popping, cracking, and movement in my lower spine. At first it was a little frightening, but after a few sets, I could feel most of the tightness and stress going away from my lower spine. So I've kept using the technique since then. From my research and experience, it's best to do 3 or 4 sets of press-ups every day if you experience back pain or are trying to heal a back injury - unless your injury was caused by that exact same motion, then you need to pursue techniques that bend the spine the other way. Confirm the techniques with a Spine Doctor first, of course.So why the warning? Well, there is a variation of the McKenzie Press-up in this book where you stand up and, while placing your hands on your hips, bend backward as far as you can a few times. This version is recommended especially if you work all day in an office and are seated for most of your work day, which I do and am. Sitting, by the way, is the enemy of the spine. Anyway, about two months ago, after I finished reading the book, I decided to implement the standing version of the McKenzie Press-up at work. Throughout my day, I stood up about 10-15 times and did the standing press-ups. At first, I felt good. I was very happy because I usually have to find an empty office or a clean bathroom so that I could lay on the ground and do a few sets of the standard McKenzie Press-ups. That's how serious my injury is; if I can't do a few sets every day, even at work, my pain becomes so unbearable that I have to literally inhale NSAIDS just to make it through the day until I can go home and lie down. So, as I was saying, that day I did a good amount of standing press-ups. Toward the end of the day, I decided to go take a walk outside to get some air. I didn't walk for more than a block before I felt either a disc or vertebrae in my lower back move. Then the pain started. I had to go back upstairs into the office and take a few Advil and just take the pain until the end of the day. The next day I went to my Chiropractor and had him adjust me, and I was back to square one. Apparently I aggravated my lower back by doing the standing press-ups, so I've never done them again. After talking to my PT, I learned that the standing variation is more advanced version, and should only be done by people who are further along in their Spine injury recovery.Now, will everyone have this same experience? Of course not. Maybe every single exercise in this book will yield great results for some people. I just wanted to warn people to be careful, and to also run these exercises by a Spine Doctor or Physical Therapist before doing any of them. When it comes to your body, especially your Spine, you need to be very careful about self-therapy. It's still a good book to add to your bookshelf, but, like I said, be careful with the exercises contained within - especially the standing version of the McKenzie Press-up.

Item as advertised , in good condition . Satisfied buyer .

I’m 68. In my 30’s I read the author’s TREAT YOUR OWN NECK, whence the few exercises (“life tricks” I would now think of them) id learned let me say goodbye to years of neck pain. Now in retirement, TREAT YOUR OWN BACK works miracles again. The new short tricks takes me 5 minutes twice a day, and WOW!, I’m back scuba diving every month.

I am an architect and always wrongfully thought that a spine disk fails as a result of compressive force at the location where it is "squeezed" the most. I could not understand why all problems seemed arised from frontal bending while by logic I could only injure my back by bending backward. It seemed that all the exercises I've done so far were moving me in the opposite direction. Well, now I read this book and I found out why I was wrong.So far I found myself to be a perfect target audience of this book: I tried everything so far: chiropractors, accupuncture, massage, oral anti-inflammatory drugs, epidural injections, etc. Only injections helped, chiropractor and massage bring a very short-term relieve. Now I am experimenting with an inversion table.One thing that I think should be added to this book is about a seat. I noticed that horse riding helps me alleviate my back pain (back in the old days when I had time for extravagances like that). I remeber having a terrible pain while on the road for many days, and a horse owner allowed me to jump on back of one of his horses; ten minutes of slow ride worked as a best therapy ever, while he watched me horrified that I will fall down, injure myself and sue him.The point is that a chair seat should resemble a horse saddle, so that a person can sit on it, maintaining a large (e.g. 270 degrees) angle between thighs and a trunk. I bought a ballchair, threw away its instruction (which inappropriately asks me to sit at 90 degree angle) and sit on it with my knees almost touching the floor. The chair is too wide for that, so I cannot maintain the position for long, but it helps anyway.Well, like other readers said: I wish that doctors, chiropractors, and other "professionals" provided me with the simple knowledge contained in this book. They did not.

After about 15 pages into this book, it hit me like a ton of bricks. No matter what you do, or what renowned specialist you see, if you don't understand why you have pain - you will not permanently lessen the pain or get rid of it all together.The first half of this book is a gold mine. It tells you why you have pain, in other words it explains the mechanics of your back and what causes pain. I spent 14 months in Physical Therapy with a herniated disk. Until my Therapist suggested this book (God Bless him for doing so), I really had no idea what I was doing or how to 'really' correct it. After I read this book twice, I was able to use the simple excercises EFFECTIVELY. After three weeks I was able to have periods of 15 to 30 minutes without PAIN. This was a breakthrough for me, as I was wearing my Tens unit 24hrs a day and taking pain pills and muscle relaxers.It has been almost two years, and I wasn't able to permanently remove the pain or fix the herniated disk by Physical Therapy or through Pain Management (7 epidurals in 12 months). I just had surgery a week ago. I cannot wait till my Neurosurgeon lets me start my Therapy. When I am walking into the Therapy office for my first appointment, you can bet that this book will be in my hand.This has to be the best ten dollar investment I have ever made...

Invaluable if you have lower back issues

Já estava sentindo dor mais de oito meses quando fui ao médico e ele me indicou este método.Melhorou muito as minhas dores nas costas. Recomendo!

Seems to be a resource referenced by many physiotherapists. So in line with what one would get as a start for a modern treatment plan.

I use the technique and, it DOES work. I also have his neck advice and continue to improve my quality of life through greater comfort which allows more engagement with the gym and golf.

This works using three exercises that take minutes a day. I got this for my wife. She went to a phsiotherapist two months after she hurt her back. After two sessions, still on pain meds and getting three hours sleep she started doing these exercises. These exercises helped relieve the pain. For lower back pain, get this book immediately before going to a physiotherapist or a chiropractor.