Product Description

From a noted pioneer in sports medicine comes a breakthrough regimen for stopping back pain once and for all—without surgery.

Eighty-percent of Americans suffer some form of low-back pain—usually due to a herniated disk—but long-term relief is rarely achieved.

As a physician specializing in treating athletes, Dr. Vijay Vad has spent years researching how to cure back pain using medical yoga and Pilates. Profiled in The Wall Street Journal, his program requires just fifteen minutes a day for eight weeks to restore flexibility and prevent future injuries.

Offering a proven alternative to invasive surgery, Dr. Vad’s Back Rx provides the best of mind/body medicine by giving readers three step-by-step exercise series, demonstrated in 130 precise photographs, for implementing his popular program at home. Even readers with severely limited mobility will rejoice in Dr. Vad’s gentle introductory workout. Progressing through his self-paced program, they will discover a new range of exercises, breathing techniques, and tips for self-massage. For those who want to go even further and use this program for more than the treatment of a single injury, an advanced workout is included that puts readers on the road to peak performance.

The perfect combination of modern medicine, Pilates innovations, and ancient yoga postures, Back Rx builds important new fundamentals for lifelong freedom from pain.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29884 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-09
• Released on: 2004-01-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781592400454
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"Back Rx has been medically proven to have significant positive effect on low back pain caused by disc pathology." -- Don Aspergen, Sports Medicine Division, the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour

"After three months, the results have been striking: 80%… reported that their pain was reduced by at least half" -- The Wall Street Journal

"[Dr. Vad’s] holistic approach can work for anyone willing to put in just a little time and positive thought." -- Ellen Barkin

Review
“After three months, the results have been striking: 80%… reported that their pain was reduced by at least half” (The Wall Street Journal) “[Dr. Vad’s] holistic approach can work for anyone willing to put in just a little time and positive thought.” (Ellen Barkin) “[His] innovative research on the professional tennis and golf tours and the practicality of Back Rx make it suitable for professional athletes and weekend warriors, as well as couch potatoes.” (Bill Norris, athletic trainer, Association of Tennis Professionals Circuit) “Back Rx has been medically proven to have significant positive effect on low back pain caused by disc pathology.” (Don Aspergen, Sports Medicine Division, the PGA Tour and Senior PGA Tour)

About the Author
A lifelong yoga practitioner, Vijay Vad, M.D., is a sports medicine specialist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. He also serves as the official back-care advisor for the Professional Golfers Association tour and two major tennis tours.

Hilary Hinzmann is a freelance editor whose projects include Use What You’ve Got by high-profile New York City realtor Barbara Corcoran.

Customer Reviews

Excellent starter book
I recently suffered my first real back injury. I spent almost a week on my back completely incapacitated by pain. As soon as I was able to move, I read this book and began doing some of the exercises from it. I found that the exercises had an immediate and very positive effect, first in reducing the pain and now building both strength and flexibility. When I was able to schedule physical therapy, the therapists were happy with my progress and added only a few exercises. My recovery has been very rapid and I'm certain this book played a significant role.

I found the introductory commentary quite helpful in introducing the physiology of the back, describing various causes of pain and remedies, and mapping out the future of my spine as I age. The advice on posture when sneezing or coughing post injury ("lean back, look up!") was worth the purchase price on its own.

I don't think there is any "one-size-fits-all" answer to back pain. Workouts need to be tailored to the needs of the individual, and will change over time as injuries heal and muscles strengthen. As such the ideal program will incorporate elements from many different sources. Because this book outlines three different workout regimens -- one for during healing, one for during post-trauma recovery, and one for ongoing strengthening -- I had a lot of options to help find a workout which works well for me.

I do have a couple of criticisms of the book. The discussion of some of the exercises do not make it entirely clear what muscle group should be affected, which made it a little harder to figure out whether I was doing it right or if I was ready for a more challenging exercise. Also, the book is firmly focused on the lower back (and hips). As a software engineer, I find that I need help with my upper back and neck, and this book does little to help me with that.

I doubt this book will be a single all-encompassing answer to your back-pain prayers. However, I expect it will help most people interested in it in the first place. For me personally, it was a real god-send.

Very Basic but well written
I gave this book to my grandmother after reading it. Safe but very basic floor movements, good for the older crowd but if you are under 60 years old I recommend other books.

After one week, it is definitely helping
I bought this book about a week ago and have done the exercises every day since. I notice an immediate difference after going through the routine each morning (I generally wake up with enough pain that I am hunched over as I walk from the bedroom to the coffee maker; after the routine I am able to stand up straight as well as walk and sit on a chair with little or no pain). I am also noticing an overall reduction in pain in my lower back at all times -- I can sit on the stool at my breakfast bar for longer than I could before, and just generally my back feels better and I am less hunched over than before.

Couple comments related to other reviewers' complaints:

(A) "The exercises are too basic." I am generally fit and have done a lot of yoga, so after four days of doing Series A, I decided to "graduate" myself to Series B in advance of the recommended eight weeks. So far, this is working well. Series B is only a little more challenging, but more to the point, it includes stretches and poses that I can tell (because I can feel it) are targeting the precise areas of my back that need it.

(B) "Anyone who has been to a therapist already knows everything in this book." Probably true, but I think the book is a great idea for people like me who tend to avoid the hassle of going to a doctor. Sure, I've talked to my PCP about my low back pain, at which point she tells me it's probably muscular and offers to refer me to a specialist -- total hassle, time out of my life, plus god knows how many co-pays and added HMO expenses. My low back pain is chronic and I know I should probably see a specialist (in my mid-30s, my low back hurts pretty much every day and I have thrown it out, on average, once every 12-18 months -- requiring 3-6 days immobility on bed or couch to recover -- since my early 20s). But I live in New York City, I'm busy, phys therapy is expensive and I basically would just rather avoid that. For all those reasons, this book is perfect in that it's an extremely affordable investment that shows me exactly which yoga poses will improve my back and saves me a trip to heaven knows how many doctors.

So basically, if you'd rather avoid dealing with a round of healthcare, but your back is bothering you and you don't want to just ignore it, this book is a frugal way to learn a practical yoga routine that will effectively target your lower back.