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Dr. David Hanscom's book, Back in Control: A Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain, explores how a turbocharged central nervous system contributes to chronic pain. Dr. Hanscom himself suffered from chronic pain and chronicles his own recovering in the book too.
For pain relief without pills, read Beth Darnall’s 2014 book, Less Pain, Fewer Pills.
If you don’t quite grasp how John Sarno, MD’s theory works (and truthfully, many people don’t), read Sherri Obermark’s just published book. Insightful and helpful — you can start relieving muscle tension today.
The Recovering Body: Physical and Spiritual Fitness for Living Clean and Sober by Jennifer Matesa
Read more about the book here
Read more about Anne M. Fletcher's book here
Contributed by Caryn S. Feldman, PhD, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Center For Pain Management:
In the book “Living Well with Pain and Illness: The Mindful Way to Free Yourself from Suffering,” author Vidyamala Burch shares her experience with disability and chronic back pain, and the way that mindfulness practices helped her overcome her suffering and renew her life with a positive outlook and decreased pain. Find the book on Amazon.
The namesake and founder of the Norman Marcus Pain Institute is an author and researcher who specializes in pain medicine models. His book, End Back Pain Forever, provides a good overview of what ails you, and how to get on the road to recovery.
Physical therapist, doctor, and professor Margareta Nordin wrote Basic Biomechanics of the Musculoskeletal System, a book about the biomechanics and treatment of musculoskeletal dysfunction. Very helpful if you want to understand what really causes back pain.
Dr. Ronald D. Siegel, Michael H. Urdang, and Dr. Douglas R. Johnson have written Back Sense: A Revolutionary Approach to Halting the Cycle of Chronic Back Pain. The book does a great job of exploring the influence of stress and tension, and offers an escape route.
Mirka Knaster’s Discovering the Body’s Wisdom is an excellent all-purpose reference for health and well-being. Knaster covers a wide array of different kinds of body therapy, throughout history and across the continents, explaining each one and offering guidance and resources for implementing them.
Dean Juhan’s book, Job’s Body, is indispensable for anyone interested in a poetic and intelligent guide to how the human body works, and how to care for it.
In 1998, Richard Deyo, MD, one of the most clear-thinking back pain experts in the U.S., published an article in Scientific American (paywall) explaining what was wrong with back pain treatment. Not a lot has changed. See his list of myths, complete with matching cartoons, on page 52; his book Hope or Hype: The Obsession with Medical Advances and the High Cost of False Promises is also a must-read.
For an eye-opening read about JFK’s back pain and Hans Kraus, the exercise doctor who banished it, see JFK’S Secret Doctor: The Remarkable Life of Medical Pioneer and Legendary Rock Climber Hans Kraus.
In this video, Jacqueline Kennedy sheds new light on the severity of JFK’s back pain.
The book Back Care Basics: A Doctor’s Gentle Yoga Program for Back and Neck Pain Relief is a good source to read up on therapeutic yoga as a low-cost solution for back conditions. Author Mary Pullig Schatz emphasizes positivity and dedication in both the prevention and treatment of issues from strain, arthritis, osteoporosis, scoliosis, pregnancy, and stress with yoga.
Barry Meier, a reporter for the New York Times, has written several important and enlightening books on the topic of painkillers, including Painkiller: A “Wonder” Drug’s Trail of Addiction and Death and A World of Hurt: Fixing Pain Medicine’s Biggest Mistake.
