End Back & Neck Pain

Highly Recommended

Very easy to read with simple asnwers to all the questions you might have on neck and back pain. Since I suffer from lower back pain, I appreciated the discussion of the many different options ranging from therapy to surgery. Having more knowledge about my condition helps me make a better decision for me. A definite read for those who suffer with a back problems.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Easy information to understand

"End Back and Neck Pain" is clearly laid out, easily understood and contains a wealth of knowledge. As a Physical Therapist I am very familiar with treating spinal pain and this book is an excellent reference. It is written from a unique and powerful perspective; a patient who is seeking to help oneself. From this vantage point the book covers everything from the symptoms, down to the anatomical structures and physiological processes that cause the symptoms. The book covers various well established interventions, all the while giving guidelines a patient to select the most probable self care solutions. It is further refreshing to see the collaboration of health professionals who treat spinal pain who understand that there is a role for conservative care, medications and injections, surgery and even learning to live with a chronic condition. I will be using the book as a quick reference as it has great tables and illustrations. I will also recommend this book to my patients as it is like a handbook for managing both low back pain and how to optimally navigate our health care system to get the most beneficial care for a challenging problem.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Very helpful and informative!

I recently finished reading End Back and Neck Pain. I thought the information was laid out clearly and I learned several things from this book I hadn't known before.

First by breaking down the different kinds of pain I was able to evaluate the kind of pain I experienced. The explanation of how the body's bones, muscles and nerves are connected and how pain is felt helped me understand what I needed to do to help myself. The section on when to apply heat and ice was different than what I always understood. Stretching and exercising has always been a weakness for me and as I age I am feeling that the time is now to make this a regular habit. There are 33 pages of pictures and easy to follow instructions on a variety of stretches and exercises.

Controlling factors like diet and nutrition, weight, sleep, smoking and stress help to contribute to overall health. Some of the most helpful chapters were about body mechanics and ergonomics. Putting the body and your equipment in the best possible positions to reduce body pain and mismanagement is extremely important.

Having been to several doctors regarding my pain and injury I know how important it is to choose the right caregiver and to be able to communicate your needs. It is important to ask the right questions and feel that your doctor is listening to your concerns. Communicating how treatment is going and the effects of medication is each patient's responsibility. In the end I opted for surgery and for me it was the right choice, but I did not use exercise and stretching in my regular daily habit after the initial period of rehabilitation. I see now where I can benefit from ongoing stretching and exercise.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

This book really helps

Highly recommend this book. Exceptionally user friendly. End Back and Neck Pain by Vincent Fortanasce explains sections of the spine, how each section works and how to strengthen each section in a manner which nonmedical readers can easily understand. It explains the infomation a patient needs to keep track of to provide a doctor with sufficient records to make a correct diagnosis and recommendations. This book is very useful.

Great book!

Great book!

End anxiety and learn how to get the help you need

If you or someone you love experiences acute or chronic neck or back pain, you need to buy End Back & Neck Pain by Fortanasce, Gutkind and Watkins. It not only helps you understand your symptoms, distinguishing between those which can be improved with self-care and which need the expertise of a specialist, it also helps you determine the best doctor for your needs and how to interface with him or her. You will also learn what to expect if you need to have tests run or surgical procedures.

I wish this book had been available a few years ago when both my husband and I had to undergo months of suffering culminating in nerve block injections and painful therapies. The knowledge in this book would have relieved our anxiety and helped us avoid some unnecessary costs. The authors explain diagnosis and surgical procedures with both text and photos, and charts of what to expect after each phase of the process. They will give you the knowledge you need to be an informed patient, more fully involved in your care. The more you know, the less fear you have and the more able you are to cope with what is happening within your body and to you through treatment.

The book is divided into four parts: understanding your pain, minimizing or avoiding pain through self-care, choosing the best doctor and treatment when self-care is not enough, and understanding why advanced treatment such as spinal injections or surgery may be necessary. Throughout the book, the emphasis is upon helping you understand what pain is, how to avoid it, how to cope with it when it cannot be avoided and, when coping techniques are not enough, how to select and work with a surgeon.

What I was most impressed with is the amount of information in this book that empowers you to understand neck and back pain and how to understand the process that medical professionals use to help us cope with or heal the problems causing the pain. You learn about physical therapy, the usefulness of medications, adapting your environment to make movement easier, and surgical options that might be necessary when all else fails. Most importantly, you learn how diagnoses are made, how to describe your pain effectively and how to communicate with your physical therapist, primary care physician or specialist so they will more clearly understand your pain and be able to assist you in coping with or overcoming it.

The more you know, the better your chances are of achieving a pain-free life. The better you communicate based on that knowledge, the faster and more effectively your medical team can help you. This book is the key to achieving those goals. It is packed with clear explanations, charts, photos and checklists. If only I had had this book years ago, I could have saved myself and my husband from needless fear, pain and ineffective treatments. I would have known enough to understand what we needed, how to select the best doctor and physical therapy team and how to avoid re-injuring ourselves. At least now, thanks to Library Thing's Early Review program, I was lucky enough to read this book and am now armed with the knowledge to help myself and my husband in the future.

Highly Recommended!!!

This book was easy to read & found the exercises & information very useful.