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Bad Back Book
Bad Back Book
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First published June 1, 1983
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 13, 2013
Scroll down to the bottom for the spoiler... the meat of this book in two paragraphs. :)
Up until page 35 (the narrative portion is only 43 pages), I'd already decided this book was receiving one star. Of course it's a health-related book written in the '70s, *by an actor,* about things that happened in the '50s, so I really wasn't expecting anything earth-shattering. But I did find it on a book shelf in the house I'm visiting for the next 3 weeks, it's super-short, and I like to get lots of different perspectives, so why not? So what happened on page 35 that changed things? In comes the "folk doctor" who finally gives this guy lasting relief after years of seeking out all sorts of remedies. Now THIS is exactly why I bothered to pick up this book... because I know that the best answers for chronic conditions usually have nothing to do with technological advancement and more to do with knowledge that's been passed down through years of experience.
I might still be a bit generous with the 3 stars, but hey... I've read a few books on back pain, and have learned something from each (a lot more in each of those than this one, actually), but none has given me a simple enough exercise routine to actually compel me to start following it... until now. Did my first set of exercises tonight. Yay!
Now back to the first 35 pages... basically a memoir of this guy's spinal history. Yep, this guy reminded me of why I tired of hanging out with the theater geeks in college. The author is an actor and sounds like a pretty annoying fellow to be around. As much as I've read about the mindbody causes of back pain, I'm thinking it's no wonder he's having these problems, but am doubting that he ever will address any of that, or else the book would have been written in a different tone, right? I'm sure he's trying to be funny and entertaining, but seriously... you're an ACTOR and you think the acupuncturist is so WEIRD for talking to your muscles that you WALK OUT of your first session WHILE the needles are still in your body? What the? I guess actors in the '50s weren't as eccentric as they are today? And I'm sure he's one of those assholes walking around saying, "I tried acupuncture and it didn't work." No, you didn't try it. (Acupuncture has really saved my ass in a pinch, literally, and has had really impressive long-lasting effects so far.) Anyway, as much as I don't want to be this guy's wife, kudos to him for working so hard for so long to find relief.
Now... to THE MEAT OF THE MESSAGE:
Raschad A. was "a local folk doctor who had been unofficially treating parachute jumpers from Wheelus Air Force Base near Tripoli." And his treatment:
"...was loosely based on the theory that man was not meant to stand erect and that we are all walking around with backs that are far too weak to support our weight in the upright position. As a result our muscles rebel and our vertebrae slip. ...to scientifically strengthen each and every back muscle, which must then take over the function of what should have been a much stronger and differently structured spinal column. ...his method involved taking Yoga, straining it through a fine mesh, adding a touch of old Libyan folk cure, a soupcon of Oriental wisdom... and then adding a hell of a lot of experience at treating crippled paratroopers from Wheelus."
OKAY THEN... I'm a big believer in the psychosomatic aspects of back pain, but this sounds good to me, too! Of course I was happy to read this little bit: "It is also important that you approach your lifestyle with a calm and serene point of view. I know that in the West life is lived at a frantic and senseless pace. The tensions and hostilities we carry around with us are as much responsible for our aches and pains as anything else. ...the main nerves of the body are carried in a huge electric wire coil down the spinal column, and when the brain transmits tensions and hostilities through these nerves fibers, the muscles that these nerves pass through are constantly being shocked and consequently react against this by going into spasm. It is this muscular spasm, or cramp, that causes most of the pain." Amen. Psychosomatics for dummies. Goes for headaches and pelvic pain and I'm sure all other chronic pains, too.
Now, sadly, we never learn about this mindbody part of his rehab. So it's a bit intriguing that these physical exercises helped the author to remain episode-free for 19+ years, possibly despite not addressing the mindbody aspect (which is I think the hardest thing to conquer for most people). But I wonder about a possible change in attitude, from victim to one who is wholly responsible for his health, and how that might have affected the signals his back received from his nervous system. In fact, the first lesson was this: "...it is you and your disciplined hard work which will eventually cure you completely. I am only the handmaiden to your work." What a relief this must have been, in addition to meeting someone who was fully cured for 10 years by this method. We don't say, "what a load off!" for nothing. That alone probably reduced a good bit of the tension.
So... maybe the REAL meat of the book is the exercise instructions in the last 45 pages. I really can't tell you how safe, valid, or effective they are, so we'll leave my rating out of that aspect. One thing I will say is that this wasn't written by anyone with medical training at all, and when that happens, you get a lot of dangerous assumptions. This author had a single slipped disk... what type, how severe, and in which direction, we don't know. He did have surgical removal (all agreed this was a mistake) and so was left with only his back muscles to stabilize this area. This is of interest to me since I have 3 missing discs and would really like to believe that I can be pain-free without surgery. Back to my point... not all back issues are the same. Arching the back could make your situation worse if you have a disc protruding posteriorly. A fracture, a bone spur, cauda equina syndrome... these are things (among many others, I'm sure) that you want to rule out with imaging before diving head-first into a treatment plan. That said, when you're told there's nothing more to be done (or are given ridiculous drug and surgical options for lesser issues), I suppose you might as well give these exercises a try.
Up until page 35 (the narrative portion is only 43 pages), I'd already decided this book was receiving one star. Of course it's a health-related book written in the '70s, *by an actor,* about things that happened in the '50s, so I really wasn't expecting anything earth-shattering. But I did find it on a book shelf in the house I'm visiting for the next 3 weeks, it's super-short, and I like to get lots of different perspectives, so why not? So what happened on page 35 that changed things? In comes the "folk doctor" who finally gives this guy lasting relief after years of seeking out all sorts of remedies. Now THIS is exactly why I bothered to pick up this book... because I know that the best answers for chronic conditions usually have nothing to do with technological advancement and more to do with knowledge that's been passed down through years of experience.
I might still be a bit generous with the 3 stars, but hey... I've read a few books on back pain, and have learned something from each (a lot more in each of those than this one, actually), but none has given me a simple enough exercise routine to actually compel me to start following it... until now. Did my first set of exercises tonight. Yay!
Now back to the first 35 pages... basically a memoir of this guy's spinal history. Yep, this guy reminded me of why I tired of hanging out with the theater geeks in college. The author is an actor and sounds like a pretty annoying fellow to be around. As much as I've read about the mindbody causes of back pain, I'm thinking it's no wonder he's having these problems, but am doubting that he ever will address any of that, or else the book would have been written in a different tone, right? I'm sure he's trying to be funny and entertaining, but seriously... you're an ACTOR and you think the acupuncturist is so WEIRD for talking to your muscles that you WALK OUT of your first session WHILE the needles are still in your body? What the? I guess actors in the '50s weren't as eccentric as they are today? And I'm sure he's one of those assholes walking around saying, "I tried acupuncture and it didn't work." No, you didn't try it. (Acupuncture has really saved my ass in a pinch, literally, and has had really impressive long-lasting effects so far.) Anyway, as much as I don't want to be this guy's wife, kudos to him for working so hard for so long to find relief.
Now... to THE MEAT OF THE MESSAGE:
Raschad A. was "a local folk doctor who had been unofficially treating parachute jumpers from Wheelus Air Force Base near Tripoli." And his treatment:
"...was loosely based on the theory that man was not meant to stand erect and that we are all walking around with backs that are far too weak to support our weight in the upright position. As a result our muscles rebel and our vertebrae slip. ...to scientifically strengthen each and every back muscle, which must then take over the function of what should have been a much stronger and differently structured spinal column. ...his method involved taking Yoga, straining it through a fine mesh, adding a touch of old Libyan folk cure, a soupcon of Oriental wisdom... and then adding a hell of a lot of experience at treating crippled paratroopers from Wheelus."
OKAY THEN... I'm a big believer in the psychosomatic aspects of back pain, but this sounds good to me, too! Of course I was happy to read this little bit: "It is also important that you approach your lifestyle with a calm and serene point of view. I know that in the West life is lived at a frantic and senseless pace. The tensions and hostilities we carry around with us are as much responsible for our aches and pains as anything else. ...the main nerves of the body are carried in a huge electric wire coil down the spinal column, and when the brain transmits tensions and hostilities through these nerves fibers, the muscles that these nerves pass through are constantly being shocked and consequently react against this by going into spasm. It is this muscular spasm, or cramp, that causes most of the pain." Amen. Psychosomatics for dummies. Goes for headaches and pelvic pain and I'm sure all other chronic pains, too.
Now, sadly, we never learn about this mindbody part of his rehab. So it's a bit intriguing that these physical exercises helped the author to remain episode-free for 19+ years, possibly despite not addressing the mindbody aspect (which is I think the hardest thing to conquer for most people). But I wonder about a possible change in attitude, from victim to one who is wholly responsible for his health, and how that might have affected the signals his back received from his nervous system. In fact, the first lesson was this: "...it is you and your disciplined hard work which will eventually cure you completely. I am only the handmaiden to your work." What a relief this must have been, in addition to meeting someone who was fully cured for 10 years by this method. We don't say, "what a load off!" for nothing. That alone probably reduced a good bit of the tension.
So... maybe the REAL meat of the book is the exercise instructions in the last 45 pages. I really can't tell you how safe, valid, or effective they are, so we'll leave my rating out of that aspect. One thing I will say is that this wasn't written by anyone with medical training at all, and when that happens, you get a lot of dangerous assumptions. This author had a single slipped disk... what type, how severe, and in which direction, we don't know. He did have surgical removal (all agreed this was a mistake) and so was left with only his back muscles to stabilize this area. This is of interest to me since I have 3 missing discs and would really like to believe that I can be pain-free without surgery. Back to my point... not all back issues are the same. Arching the back could make your situation worse if you have a disc protruding posteriorly. A fracture, a bone spur, cauda equina syndrome... these are things (among many others, I'm sure) that you want to rule out with imaging before diving head-first into a treatment plan. That said, when you're told there's nothing more to be done (or are given ridiculous drug and surgical options for lesser issues), I suppose you might as well give these exercises a try.
June 14, 2019
I started this one with a healthy dose of skepticism and then got sucked in with anecdotes that were hauntingly familiar and read it in a night (not much of a brag; it’s short). The author records the same awful type of experiences that we’ve all had (though his were admittedly quite severe) in a way that is strangely therapeutic and engaging to read. Once you follow the tale to its happy ending, he gives you specific and concrete solutions to a problem facing a lot of us. I’d recommend this to anyone suffering from back pain or even as just a guide on how to treat your body in modern western civilization.
February 16, 2019
Very useful.
Update: I tweak my back a few times a year. It usually takes three weeks before I start to feel better. I've been doing the stretches in this book for three days and already feel better. Amazing improvement!
Update: I tweak my back a few times a year. It usually takes three weeks before I start to feel better. I've been doing the stretches in this book for three days and already feel better. Amazing improvement!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews