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Forever Painless: Lasting Relief Through Gentle Movement
The Canadian fitness guru who showed us how to slow--even reverse--aging in her international bestseller Aging Backwards , is back with a revolutionary way to cure chronic pain with movement. "Our bodies are designed to be pain-free through our l ives," says Miranda Esmonde-White, "but to achieve that, we have to move."
In Forever Painless , Miranda Esmonde-White introduces us to a new understanding of how chronic pain begins when our muscles become unbalanced and cause connective tissue problems. Something as common as daily habits or as unexpected as accidents or injuries create imbalance, and we compensate by favouring our weaker part, leading to strain on our feet, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, upper back, lower back, elbows, wrists or neck--and eventually such conditions as arthritis, chronic back pain, plantar fasciitis and fibromyalgia. Hips and knees are especially surgeons often tell those with chronic hip or knee pain to tough it out and come back in two or three years when the damage is sufficiently severe that only a joint replacement will do. Forever Painless deals with preventing and reversing imbalances so you can live a pain-free life.
Forever Painless will teach you a new way of looking at your body, providing neurological and physiological explanations of the causes of most chronic pain and teaching you simple exercises that real people have used to become free of pain and regain mobility. Among those who have conquered their pain using the techniques in this the director of child services in New York City who used these exercises to recover from disabling chronic back pain; an accountant who avoided major bone reconstruction surgery through 20 minutes a day of stretching and strengthening; a prima ballerina whose career was extended by five years when Esmonde-White's exercises relieved her debilitating hip pain. "It's time to change our relationship with chronic pain," Esmonde-White writes. "The solution is right under our noses, it's free, and it doesn't require drugs or it's gentle rebalancing exercises."
In Forever Painless , Miranda Esmonde-White introduces us to a new understanding of how chronic pain begins when our muscles become unbalanced and cause connective tissue problems. Something as common as daily habits or as unexpected as accidents or injuries create imbalance, and we compensate by favouring our weaker part, leading to strain on our feet, ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, upper back, lower back, elbows, wrists or neck--and eventually such conditions as arthritis, chronic back pain, plantar fasciitis and fibromyalgia. Hips and knees are especially surgeons often tell those with chronic hip or knee pain to tough it out and come back in two or three years when the damage is sufficiently severe that only a joint replacement will do. Forever Painless deals with preventing and reversing imbalances so you can live a pain-free life.
Forever Painless will teach you a new way of looking at your body, providing neurological and physiological explanations of the causes of most chronic pain and teaching you simple exercises that real people have used to become free of pain and regain mobility. Among those who have conquered their pain using the techniques in this the director of child services in New York City who used these exercises to recover from disabling chronic back pain; an accountant who avoided major bone reconstruction surgery through 20 minutes a day of stretching and strengthening; a prima ballerina whose career was extended by five years when Esmonde-White's exercises relieved her debilitating hip pain. "It's time to change our relationship with chronic pain," Esmonde-White writes. "The solution is right under our noses, it's free, and it doesn't require drugs or it's gentle rebalancing exercises."
320 pages, Hardcover
Published November 15, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 30, 2017
I loved this book so much that I bought the book and have faithfully followed some of her stretches.
Since I have been introduced to her philosophy of strengthening and lengthening muscles through stretching, I haven't had to visit my chiropractor once. No gym equipment required is a bonus.
To think about how much money I would have saved if I had this book years ago...........
Since I have been introduced to her philosophy of strengthening and lengthening muscles through stretching, I haven't had to visit my chiropractor once. No gym equipment required is a bonus.
To think about how much money I would have saved if I had this book years ago...........
June 6, 2018
Not quite a book you "read"...I need to buy a copy of this, because I'm trying to work through the exercises.
March 3, 2017
I was quite impressed with this book - seemed to make sense, especially in view of the fact that I have been doing "Classical Stretch" for the last couple of weeks and have been quite surprised what it has done for me in such a short time.
The book concentrates on pain that does not go away. In Part 1 it discusses the general principals of pain and why and when it becomes chronic. The 2nd part gives you all the workouts for specific regions of the body where pain resides, i.e. foot and ankle, knee, hip, back, upper back and shoulder, connective tissue, immune system, arthritis and stress and shows examples for each workout plus the basic warm up. Each chapter is preceded by a story of how certain people have benefited from the workouts. Anecdotal at best.
Workouts are difficult to do from the book, but I recognized some of the workouts from the stretches that I do every day. If you suffer from chronic pain and have not found relief anywhere else it is worth a try to do these workouts.
The book concentrates on pain that does not go away. In Part 1 it discusses the general principals of pain and why and when it becomes chronic. The 2nd part gives you all the workouts for specific regions of the body where pain resides, i.e. foot and ankle, knee, hip, back, upper back and shoulder, connective tissue, immune system, arthritis and stress and shows examples for each workout plus the basic warm up. Each chapter is preceded by a story of how certain people have benefited from the workouts. Anecdotal at best.
Workouts are difficult to do from the book, but I recognized some of the workouts from the stretches that I do every day. If you suffer from chronic pain and have not found relief anywhere else it is worth a try to do these workouts.
December 29, 2017
I discovered Classical Stretch on PBS. Working along with the shows was beginning to help my back, so I went to the website to purchase a DVD. I ended up subscribing to Essentrics TV, the streaming service. That is how I learned about this book and its companion, Aging Backwards.
I will issue a caveat that the book makes a lot of claims, many of which are valid - but a percentage of them seem to be reaching a little far. I recommend giving Miranda the benefit of the doubt however, because the rest of the content is sound. The method helps me control back pain and a better quality of life through improved posture and learning to hold myself correctly throughout the day rather than slumping, standing to one side, etc.
In addition to explanations about the Essentrics method, Miranda provides suggestions for specific conditions, body types and types of people (weak bones, bad backs, athletes, overweight, etc.). There are plenty of photographs illustrating the exercises and routines for specific needs. It may be difficult to recreate the program from paper without having worked out along to some videos, available on most PBS stations and at www.essentrics.com.
I will issue a caveat that the book makes a lot of claims, many of which are valid - but a percentage of them seem to be reaching a little far. I recommend giving Miranda the benefit of the doubt however, because the rest of the content is sound. The method helps me control back pain and a better quality of life through improved posture and learning to hold myself correctly throughout the day rather than slumping, standing to one side, etc.
In addition to explanations about the Essentrics method, Miranda provides suggestions for specific conditions, body types and types of people (weak bones, bad backs, athletes, overweight, etc.). There are plenty of photographs illustrating the exercises and routines for specific needs. It may be difficult to recreate the program from paper without having worked out along to some videos, available on most PBS stations and at www.essentrics.com.
June 22, 2020
Just have to do the exercises
Tried them while reading book seem to work for me just have to continue
Tried them while reading book seem to work for me just have to continue
July 19, 2023
Stars: 4.5
March 10, 2017
Started the exercises in Aging Backwards a few months ago. This is an extension of the original book for different issues - stress, knee problems etc. Esmonde-White shows that you don't need to have pain for gain and her technique works. Highly recommend.
April 24, 2017
If you follow Classical Stretch on PBS or have her tapes, you really don't need this book. Nothing else is in it. I love the exercises and have been doing them for 6+ years. They really work.
May 2, 2017
Read this book slowly and carefully over three weeks and found the advice and gentle movement exercises to be excellent, particularly the ones pertaining to shoulder pain and severely arthritic fingers, as that's what affects me the most. Gentle movment cannot hurt and relieving (or just lessening) chronic pain is wonderful. This book is a must read for seniors and also anyone of any age who suffers from chronic pain.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews