Coping with / advice about the back and back problems Books

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewSome years ago, I observed Rowland Hazard, MD in action in his clinic in New Hampshire. As an investigative journalist deep in my research for a book, the experience of watching people who had long ago given up hope finding their way back to life was extraordinary. Dr. Hazard’s new book contains the recipe for this miracle, and it’s a crucial and fascinating read, both for practitioners who treat back pain patients and for the patients themselves. -- Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, author of “Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting on the Road to Recovery”

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Book SynopsisTalking Back delivers tools for rebuilding an active life and enjoying the benefits of wellness, even if you cannot get rid of your chronic back pain.Talking Back brings the reader into the classroom with people disabled by chronic back pain to experience the insights and lessons that have helped thousands of them to regain the physical and emotional capacities to resume productive lives and wellness. Through the stories of sufferers and the steps they took to take back their lives, Dr. Rowland Hazard reveals their pathways to recovery.. When back pain limits their work, recreation, and even simple activities of daily life, people become disconnected from their former lives and relationships. Each chapter in Talking Back takes the reader through one of Dr. Hazard’s classes developed from his 30 years of listening to patients’ narratives and needs. The topics begin with how people become disconnected and how to reconnect by setting personally meaningful life goals and safely achieving the flexibility, strength, and endurance required by those goals. Strategies include dealing effectively with doctors and drugs and owning the skills of deep relaxation and physical self-care to combat acute flare-ups of pain and to overcome the fear of pain that disables people even more than the pain itself. Talking Back delivers tools for rebuilding an active life and enjoying the benefits of wellness, even if you cannot get rid of your pain.Trade Review'Recovering the ability to have a good life' is possible for sufferers of back pain, suggests physician Hazard in his powerful debut. Chronic back pain—the kind that lingers for months or years—is a big business in the U.S., Hazard writes: despite the fact that Americans spend more than $100 billion annually to find relief, few actually do. Hazard takes readers through a three-week rehabilitation course, his “functional restoration program” comprising lessons drawn from conversations with over 3,000 pain-disabled patients over 30 years. His plan helps readers reframe the way they think about their pain by imagining where they want to be in four months, and offers guidance for creating a course of action to realize their goals. Readers will also learn how to have a more productive visit with their doctor (coming prepared with questions such as “Do I have a medical reason not to exercise?”), better understand the value of taking it easy, and learn helpful relaxation techniques such as visualization. Hazard includes patient stories to bring his lessons to life, and worksheets (such as a training chart and pain questionnaire) round things out. Those suffering with back pain will find Hazard’s guide packed with information and full of encouragement. * Publishers Weekly *A pain in the back can be far more than just a pain in the neck. It can lead to the loss of employment, hobbies, and even life. Patients can become fatally addicted to opioids like OxyContin. Chances are nine out of 10 that an attack of back pain will resolve itself without treatment. Hazard, a retired doctor and professor emeritus at Dartmouth, ably and empathetically devotes himself to helping the “one out of 10’s” who keep suffering for months or years. He draws on his three decades of work with patients in so-called functional restoration programs. To illustrate his points, he creates “mosaics” of real patients, like “Roberta,” a 35-year-old single mother of four who loses her loan officer job because it hurts too much to sit all day in her desk chair. These composite characters often feel lonely and helpless, particularly because their pain is invisible: there are no wounds, casts, or bandages. Hazard provides common-sense tips to alleviate back pain: relax, exercise, lose weight, don’t smoke or drink too much. Easier said than done, but expert encouragement helps. * Booklist *Some years ago, I observed Rowland Hazard, MD in action in his clinic in New Hampshire. As an investigative journalist deep in my research for a book, the experience of watching people who had long ago given up hope finding their way back to life was extraordinary. Dr. Hazard’s new book contains the recipe for this miracle, and it’s a crucial and fascinating read, both for practitioners who treat back pain patients and for the patients themselves. -- Cathryn Jakobson Ramin, author of “Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting on the Road to Recovery”Dr. Rowland Hazard has spent decades not just talking to patients with back pain, but listening to them. As a result, he evolved a practical, individualized approach to helping those with the most persistent problems. A key early lesson was that “one size fits all” definitely does not apply. Here he distills his insightful combination of expert knowledge and patients’ wisdom into a host of helpful strategies for everyone with back pain. -- Richard A. Deyo, MD, MPH, professor emeritus of Oregon Health & Science University and author of "Watch Your Back!"Table of ContentsPrefaceChapter 1. Nobody Knows Your Pain the Way That You DoChapter 2. You Can’t Get What You Want ‘Til You Know What You WantChapter 3. The Medical Office VisitChapter 4. DrugsChapter 5. RelaxationChapter 6. Acute and Chronic Pain Chapter 7. WellnessEpilogueSuggested ReadingsAppendix AAppendix BIndexAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisWhether someone was injured at work, struck in a motor vehicle accident, or threw their back out while at home, once pain strikes, people need to get back to feeling their best—and back to work—as quickly as possible. Pain after an injury can be limiting and make a person feel helpless, uncertain, and fearful about the future. It is difficult to achieve one’s dreams when pain is preventing doing anything but moving from the bed to the couch. The quickest way to get over the pain to achieve those dreams is to get back to feeling great and back to work. In Move Freely, Helen M. Blake, MD helps readers rise above the pain of an injury by sharing her process for physical renewal. Dr. Blake’s process is the guide to anti-inflammatory nutrition, mindfulness and yoga practices, aerobic conditioning, and vitamin supplements. Move Freely teaches readers how to rise above the pain that continues for months or years, nourish one’s well-being, work toward professional goals and aspirations, and so much more. It enlists the most comprehensive set of tools and practices to get readers back to work and ready to pursue their passions—beyond the limits of chronic pain.

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Book SynopsisStop the Pain presents tried-and-true pain-relieving techniques in an easy-to-follow guide. Veteran massage therapist, Vienna Schmidt has worked with hundreds of people with chronic pain, empowering her clients to take their healing into their own hands. In Stop the Pain, Vienna shares her tried-and-true pain-relieving techniques in an easy-to-follow guide where those suffering can discover: What causes tension, stabbing or burning pain, and knots in their neck and back Strategies that work to relieve pain (and save the money they’ve been spending on therapies that didn’t work or didn’t last) A way to get back to feeling great and sleeping without pain How their brain comes back when the constant pain messages stop How great it is to have the power to get themselves out of pain

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Book SynopsisWithin Reverse Button™, Abby Beauchamp aids those dealing with back pain in a simple and easy-to-follow way and helps them access their reverse button to avoid surgery, save time and money, and get back to their life today. Intuitive Healing Facilitator, Abby Beauchamp of the Ortho Healing Center has holistically helped many clients with this same story learn that there are more options available to avoiding surgery and returning to a life of comfort and function. In Reverse Button™, she helps those dealing with back pain: Find relief from their pain, so they can get back to living their life Learn why you experience back pain Save both time and money in their return to a pain-free life

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Book SynopsisWithin I Can Sit Again, readers learn what to expect during their visit with a physician and feel empowered as they navigate through the interventional orthopedic regenerative medicine field, stem cells, and other evolving treatments. Tailbone pain is life changing. It affects the way of sitting, working, driving, or traveling. It consumes the everyday thought process, leading to loss of concentration, irritability, and depression. However, this is treatable. Tailbone pain can be treated, and those with this pain will sit comfortably again. Dr. Jennifer K. Stebbing, DO takes the concepts behind regenerative orthopedic treatment procedures that Dr. Chris Centeno discusses in his book Orthopedics 2.0, and Dr. Marchetti’s guide on the science of current stem cells options discussed in A Buyer’s Guide to Stem Cell Therapies and makes them easy to understand. In I Can Sit Again, those with tailbone pain are taught: What to do to treat their pain What type of doctors offer treatment What to expect during treatment What to expect as they heal, after they are treated

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