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Summary: Dr. Sarno's method cured my 30 years of low back pain.
Review: If you fit Dr. Sarno's personality profile of a perfectionistic achiever with the standard back pain complaints, e.g., mildly herniated disc, degenerative disc disease, arthritic calcification, scoliosis, sciatica, etc., this book may provide you with the cure. It did for me! I have had four MRI's of my low back, an EMG, myelogram, and every other possible test, have seen neurologists, neurosurgeons and orthopedists, have taken thousands of pain pills, all to no avail. I read Dr. Sarno's book, accepted his premise and method, and all of my back pain has dissipated.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: If I hadn't experienced the pain I would have probably said this was all hocus pocus. But the truth is in what John Sarno has written. Absolutely incredibly true! Thank you Dr. John Sarno!
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Summary: PAIN-FREE!
Review: My wife had six years of chronic, usually excruciating low-back pain and sciatica. Went the usual route of MRI's, physical therapy, "back school," etc., with some slight relief as long as she was constantly vigilant to restrict the way she moved. She read Dr. Sarno's book and within a few days was PAIN-FREE. The following week we flew to Holland on vacation and she did everything that previously would have completely incapacitated her: carrying her own luggage, standing for hours in museums, etc. It has now been two months and she's still PAIN-FREE!
Rating: 
Summary: intelligent and promising
Review: I read Sarno's book and believed it only it hasn't quite worked for me yet as my back pain returned when I least expected it. I'm sure I have the usual repressed negative emotions and I try to get through to my subconscious. I am hoping it will work eventually?? I missed a really clear description of HOW to do it. I think I created new anxiety, wondering why mainstream medicine is so closed off from all these possibilities. Why are they so "narrow"? They have as much to learn as anybody else. Sarno mentioned that his allergy of cats disappears as soon as he knows there's a cat nearby and realizes the negative thoughts are the cause again. This seemed a bit strange to me. I guess it means that there is a weak spot physically, but that that's not the main problem. Which must mean that our backs ARE a weak spot, but we can think it away anyway. I missed mention of this fact. Unless I overlooked something while reading. But I listened very carefully. Even the name Sarno sounds impressive to me! If anyone can tell me how to get through to my subconscious, I shall be very pleased. Thank you in advance, Kathy Heckscher Ruyshstraat 26 III 1091 CC Amsterdam, Netherlands e-mail: heckscher@siswo.uva.nl
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Summary: a true miracle
Review: I am not a proponant of alternative treatments, but since Dr. Sarno was an M.D and since I was at the end of my rope, I decided to give the book a try. I was literally crippled by Aug. 1999. My back had gone out in March 1999 and the diagnosis was a herniated disk. I was devastated as my father has been semi disabled for over 30 years with this condition. Physical therapy helped at first, but as time passed, I excercised more and became worse every day. I couldn't bend or sit for more than 5 minutes. Then the numbness and tinglling started in August of 99. I had heard of Dr. Sarno months before but figured he was a crock of B.S. Desparate, I bought the book figuring I had nothing to lose. Within one week, I was bending and sitting again and within six weeks I was totally cured. I am able to care for my children again and play the violin again (lots of sitting we musicians do!). I feel that every orthopedist in the profession should be totally discredited for not even listening to what Dr. Sarno has to say. I will be giving a copy of this book to my dad now that I know it works. When I think of how he has suffered for thirty years for no reason, I get ill. I have now come to think of the back as a strong structure. It can take a lickin' and keep on tickin'! Thank you Dr. Sarno
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Summary: A life-altering book not just for sufferers of back pain
Review: Dr Sarno's book is liberating. I made a complete recovery from a severe case of Carpel Tunnel Syndrome and a host of other ailments. Now, instead of dealing exclusively with physical problems, I try to deal with emotional ones and recognize stress. Pain and discomfort no longer scare me after reading this book. I focus on yoga and exercise, as well as spirituality, instead of medical treatment. The freedom from pain and sickness is a miracle, and I recommend this easy read to any open-minded person with a chronic ailment of any kind.
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Summary: Simple - IT WORKS!!!
Review: After suffering from back pain for 4 years and having gone to over 10 doctors, chiropractors, physical therapists, acupuncturists, etc., I finally healed myself by reading this book. I read it over a year ago and have been fine since.
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Summary: FASCINATING THEORY, NOT MUCH INFO ON IMPLEMENTING
Review: I found Dr. Sarno's theories regarding the epidemic of back pain to be incredibly innovative, yet making a lot of sense. I read the book after seeing Dr. Sarno's interview with broadcast journalist John Stossel (who related his own success after treatment by Dr. Sarno, to the skepticism of his MD brother, who was also on the show) and after I had tried every treatment available short of surgery for disc herniation (lumbar) and "severe disc degeneration" (cervical). I even had a morphine pump surgically implanted to deliver non-systemic morphine to my lumbar discs 24 hours per day, with minimal success, and still must take massive doses of oral pain meds and muscle relaxants to get through the day, so I was ready to try anything.... My complaint with this book is that very little information is given on implementing Dr. Sarno's theories. He articulates what he states is a new diagnosis for back pain: Tension Myositis Syndrome, or TMS, which is basically that back pain results from the brain subliminally causing the pain to distract patients from psychological distress; particularly convincing was his observation that thousands of people have herniated discs and other structural problems detectable by an MRI but never suffer any pain. His main treatment as set forth in the book, primarily from the experiences of his patients, seems to be to "talk to your brain" and let it know that you know what it is doing. I just can't get the hang of talking to my brain or any of the other exercises offered as successful by the patients quoted. When I called Dr. Sarno's office -- because his primary suggested method of treatment is to attend his lectures -- a message simply gave the names of doctors, none near me, who treat back pain using his methodology. I further left a NY area phone number, as he requested for those who live near the Big Apple, and indicated that I would travel to NYC for treatment, and there was never a response. Thus, I highly recommend the book for its theory of the cause of back pain, but do not read this book expecting to receive much information on the how-to of achieving cure through Dr. Sarno's methods. This left me hanging, and highly disappointed....Nonetheless, I would recommend that any sufferer of chronic back pain read the book for the theories, SOMEONE is bound to come out with a book which gives more information on implementing a cure for TMS. The book is certainly worth the purchase price for the glimmer of hope it provides.
Rating:
Summary: This book deserves six stars
Review: I'm a fairly serious cyclist--riding 150-300 miles a week for the last ten years, then a minor incident on the mountain bike and I can't ride, let alone look at a bike for three years.Met with the chiropractor. Met with the doctor. Met with the PT. All very nice people. Told me some horror stories. Gave me some exercises (I now have very strong abs). But nothing helped. Constant pain. And the pain got worse. In addition, I've been plagued by tendentious and hand pain for over five years (I attributed this to working on bikes, squeezing brake levers, and work I was doing on the computer). Anyway, none of it really seemed to make sense. I got contradictory advice. I was bummed. To make a long story shorter: JUST OVER TWO WEEKS AFTER READING THE BOOK AND IT WAS ALL GONE. I'm riding, I'm typing. Six months have gone by and still NO PAIN. I'm telling everyone about this book. If you've been through all the standard treatments, you owe it to yourself to check this book out. There are two possible outcomes to reading it: 1) extreme giddiness and rapid recovery 2) skepticism. If you react with skepticism, try to be honest with yourself and read it again. Dr. Sarno doesn't claim he can cure everyone. He claims that he can help people 90% of the time--which explains why one in ten reviews here are negative. Reading the reviews, I'm surprised at the general lack of animosity toward the medical community. No doctor ever mentioned this book. Why? Because they'd be out of work? Mr. Sarno's first book came out in the 80s. You'd expect people to keep up to date. You'd expect someone to at least raise his ideas as a possibility. You'd expect more from your car mechanic. So please, those of you who have been cured by this book, send a letter to all those people who steered you wrong. Many of them will reject it, but a few people might take interest. We can turn this around. Good luck.
Rating:
Summary: A very interesting book
Review: Dr John Sarno has a new approach to backproblem. It is interesting though I found it quite hard to follow his advice without support from a group.
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