Rating: 
Summary: It's all in your mind
Review: Save your time and money. Serious back-pain is usually not cause entirely by the mind. Take **lots** of rest (nothing more serious than walking) and you'll heal. I read the book and kept waiting for some gems of wisdom which never came.
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Summary: Relapse -- now what?
Review: I have read Dr Sarno's book, and have been trying to apply his theories that all this unexplained hip/back pain is due to emotional issues and mild oxygen deprivation to the muscle, etc.....I have accepted this theory in my mind....and started feeling better for several months...however, I haven't gotten over the fear of physical activity, walking, lifting, etc. Whenever I attempt these activites, I have lots of problems, which takes weeks to resolve and for the pain to subside toan acceptable level. I would love to hear from others (i.e. 2/2/00 reviewer from Toronto etc) on how they can explain this miraculous recovery they've made, especially how it relates to resuming physical activity. It sounds like this book has helped many readers....now I'm waiting for my turn! I welcome any EMail replies to RGarding&AOL.com
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Summary: Pain Free for 6 Months
Review: Reading this book cured my back pain and changed my life! When my back was "out", the pain was so severe that the muscles in my buttock contracted so tightly that I walked with a limp. I read the book, accepted the scientific plausibility of the theory, and now I'm cured. I haven't had an episode in over six months. I'm no longer afraid to lift heavy objects. I engage in much more physical activity. I bought a dozen copies of the book and gave them to the my friends and relatives who suffer from back pain.
Rating: 
Summary: A book for everyone with chronic pain
Review: The reviewer JD Steele missed the point of the book. The reason that there are not many words dedicated to the actual treatment of ones back pain is, detailed explanations are not required to see results. This book pleads with the reader to shed the idea that your back is broken, and that is why you hurt. He devotes most of the book to this subject because that is the cure. Understanding that the pain is generated from the brain from stress, fear, anger, etc, and not from some dibilitating injury or disease, is the treatment! This book has totaly changed the way I look at pain, and other conditions I have suffered with for 10 years. I can only hope that more doctors will read this book and use these truths to help the thousands and thousands of americans who suffer from pain.
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Summary: Healing pain without actually healing the anger behind it.
Review: Sarno talks about neck/shoulder/arm pain as well as back pain and makes a very convincing case that most of such pain is a harmless (though very painful) trick of the mind intended as a defense -- to put one's attention on bodily pain instead of often severe anger and anxiety. He has proved with thousands of patients that once the patient truly knows that this is what he has, and acts as if the pain and "injury" is harmless and mind-generated, the pain stops, usually within 2-6 weeks. The book is fascinating, more so if you have pain, but even if you don't. One very interesting element of the Sarno material is that he has achieved impressive clinical results without really changing the underlying anger or anxiety! The mind creates the condition as a defense, to divert attention from the anger and instead onto the body's physical pain or physical weakness. Once the patient ignores or laughs at the pain, resumes all normal activity, and trains himself/herself to know that any physical pain experienced should lead the mind to reflection on the emotional causes, the pain and condition disappear. There does not have to be resolution of the anger! Of course, one may argue that awareness of the anger may, in fact, change it. On a long term basis however, my guess is that people will develop new symptoms and perhaps progressively more serious symptoms until the underlying anger and fear are addressed.
Rating:
Summary: In pain? Read this book!
Review: I was debilitated by severe back pain early in 1999, a repetition of a problem I had in 1987. Over the years, I accommodated to the pain, limiting many of my activities. I would often have to take some time off to "lay down" to relieve occasional attacks. Then this year I was laid low by extreme pain in my legs radiating from the lower back. An MRI and the diagnosis of 2 leading neurosurgeons confirmed the existence of 2 herniated disks, several bulging disks and spinal stenosis. Both recommended surgery, but I was hesitant. Even though I could not drive, sit up, or function in any normal way, I resisted the surgery. I was taking painkillers, anitinflammatories and doing physical therapy, but getting no better. None of the healthcare professionsl I queried would admit to knowing Sarno or anything about his ideas--what a shame. After seeing Sarno on 20/20 I bought the book and recognized myself in his description of the typical back pain sufferer. I started to apply the ideas in his book that day, and started getting better immediately. After 4 weeks I was basically pain-free and after 8 weeks I felt I had recovered to my earlier level of health. Now, 9 months later, I'm more active and in better shape than in the last 10 years, and feel 20 years younger. If you can get your mind to go along for a few weeks, this book will change your life for the better. Not least of all, you will feel that you really can influence your back pain syndrome, instead of being a passive victin. Try it!
Rating:
Summary: Exceedingly insightful - at last, the truth!
Review: He is, as it were, a voice crying in the wilderness, but Dr. Sarno has written an extraordinarily truthful account of psychosomatic back pain - which is almost invariably poorly understood in pop. culture. Upon months of reflection, I am convinced that he has made a major contribution by helping to clarify the modus operandi of the human psyche. After two years of horrendous neck discomfort, I am, finally, approaching a metaphorical clearing in the woods, and the pain is lifting. The most frequently heard criticism of Sarno, it seems, is that he relies on certain elements of Freudian psychology - namely, the unconscious and conversion symptoms. Regrettably, the mere mention of Freud - who, though surely not correct about everything, was nonetheless on the right track, so to speak, about many things - is enough to frighten and/or to turn away some people. This phenomenon is certainly regrettable, because deprecating Sarno's truthful - I emphasize, truthful - exposition because of his reliance on the psycho-analytical tradition not only prohibits these too hasteful critics from obtaining a better understanding of the psyche but also prolongs their pain. It is doubtless important to note that Sarno's method is not an over-the-counter remedy and, moreover, that it requires considerable thought on the patient's part. But, the rewards are astounding. While instant, drugstore remedies are rarely more than temporarily effective - and, crucially, often serve to muffle symptoms which, rather than be muffled, should be listened to, as they are the mind's way of communicating important messages - Sarno's treatment lasts a lifetime and is an excellent introduction to psychosomatic medicine and psychodynamics. I conclude by reiterating my high praise for Dr. Sarno and by restating that his tack does work, if the reader is authentically open to and receptive of what he is trying to say.
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Summary: For Skeptics Only
Review: Despite the inference contained within the title, this book has painfully few words directly applicable to how the reader may address his/her own back pain. It is definitely not for the reader who is seeking a "how to" book. Rather this book is directed toward the reader or practicianer who does not believe that the mind has an influence on the physical experience of pain, and/or the reader who wishes to review the author's model candidates of those whose pain may originate in the mind. If you are a non-believer, this book just may be for you. If you are already a believer, prepare to be bombarded with a sufferably heavy dose of redundant justifications and patient stories aimed soley to convince the reader that the mind does influence the body.
Rating:
Summary: It Works
Review: It's apparent that the Amazon.com reviewer didn't read the book thoroughly, which is unfortunate. My lifestyle and career were seriously threatened by incapacitating back pain. I read Sarno's book, and found it compelling enough to go on and take his course. Three years on, I'm back pain free. I know a handful of people who've been helped by the book alone, but it's certainly true that the course is very effective, which validates his theories, which invalidates the vast majority of other back pain books. For what it's worth, I'm an allopathic physician (MD) with significant orthopedic surgery experience.
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Summary: Night Pain
Review: I find the book very,very helpful having suffered from back pain for the past nine years. I am now relatively free of pain during the day time but am still having a lot of pain at night and waking up many times. Has anyone any coping strategies?
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