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Healing
Back Pain: The Mind- Body Connection
This book is
the successor to Mind Over Back Pain (1984) but can be read as a
stand-alone book. Dr. John E. Sarno, M.D, the author, is a professor
in the department of Rehabilitation Medicine at the New York University
School of Medicine. He specializes in chronic pain and musculoskeletal
disorders, one of which is back pain. Dr. Sarno's
theory is that most pain occurring in the neck and back originates
from emotional rather than physical reasons. This condition is called
TMS (Tension Myositis Syndrome) and manifests when people repress
emotions of anxiety and rage. When a physical incident such as picking
up a child brings on an attack of back pain, Dr. Sarno argues this
is only a physical trigger, hiding the real reason that the pain
occurs. The person who did the lifting has been repressing emotional
distress of some kind. The treatment
for this malady lies within one's own powers, Sarno says. To start
the healing process, Sarno suggests 'thinking psychological'. Dr.
Sarno does not discount the need to see a physician for severe back
pain. However, this would simply be to ascertain that the patient
is not suffering from something really serious like kidney problems
or a tumour. He also eschews 'symptomatic treatment', which he argues
will merely treat the symptoms and not the underlying cause of the
problem. "Defenses
against repressed emotions work by diverting one's attention to
something other than the emotions that are being kept hidden in
the unconscious," the book notes. "That is why physical
defenses are so good: they have the ability to really grab one's
attention, particularly if they are painful, frightening and disabling.
This is exactly what happens with TMS." This is an excellent
book for those suffering from fear of physical activity, especially
those who are afraid to use their backs for fear of the pain. The
last part of the book contains letters to Dr. Sarno from patients
he has helped. Many of them suffered from back pain for years before
they approached the author. Readers who
prefer a holistic approach will also find this book interesting,
as it addresses emotional and physical factors when looking at health
problems. The book promises that back pain can be healed 'without
drugs, without surgery, without exercise'. Review written
by Marina
John
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