ISBN: 0446392308/ ISBN-13: 9780446392303

Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection

(Trade paperback)

by John E Sarno, M.D.

Warner Books, 02/1991, 208 pages, English

HEALING BACK PAIN offers relief from chronic back pain without drugs, surgery, or even exercise. Recognizing the connection between the mind and the body, Dr. John Sarno explains how back pain can be the end result of long-term emotional pain, particularly Tension Myositis Syndrome, better known as TMS. According to Dr. Sarno, TMS is the predominant cause of back and shoulder pain in people of all ages. Although its origins are unknown, Sarno has discovered through years of clinical studies that TMS is a physiologic alteration in the muscles, nerves, tendons, and ligaments that make up the postural muscles--the neck, entire back, and buttocks--of the body. According to Dr. Sarno, the body is tricked into expressing this unspoken pain by the unconscious mind, causing the conscious mind to recognize it but without the ability to heal it. In HEALING BACK PAIN, Dr. Sarno explains how anxiety and unexpressed anger can trigger a muscle spasm, why successful people are more prone to TMS, and how people train themselves into living with chronic pain. Most importantly, Dr. Sarno includes a specific plan of action for sufferers that is the first step to defeating this painful syndrome.