I found Oh, My Aching Back when undiagnosed gout went to my back and
left shoulder. Pain! The brilliant doctor didn't even suspect gout/!
I did these blessed simple exercises and relieved the pain, oddly enough
the next attack the pain went to the toe, where it is "supposed" to go.
After a mere Podiatrist had trumped my World Famous Internist by treating me for gout we concluded that the exercises had released some stress and so the gout went to its "proper place". Let me tell you, this book was God Sent. George von Hilsheimer, Ph.D., F.R.S.H.

This book saved me. I suffered terrible lower back pain (herniated disk, etc.), and an acquaintance told me to stop seeing doctors and follow exercises 1-8 in this book religiously. I have done these exercises every single day for the past 22 years. I rarely have any pain and run four times a week, lift weights and ski (unfortunately, only my tennis game didn't improve). Note that these exercises don't work overnight, but they really worked for me. Just do them.

I had a lower back injury that stopped my running. I was a miler running high school track in the 4:teens, lots of long hard interval workouts. Lower back pain put me on crutches.

This book states that most back injuries are muscle imbalances, for distance runners - strong abdomen muscles over power weaker back muscles. Following the exercises in book I was running again in 30 days.

Started running again after 20 years, and back pain returned. Purchased book used hoping for same results.

Not only have I read this book, I refer to it quite often . . . Dr. Root has performed back surgery on me, and twice on my brother. He is both a brilliant surgeon and a compassionate individual who really understands what a patient needs to hear and how to communicate (both orally and in print).

In my eyes, he can do or say no wrong. Prior to my being treated by Dr. Root I couldn't function and now I am living my life - actively (with reinforcements from his book).

Good-bye to back pain and thank you Dr. Root!

I have a dog-eared copy of this book and I've bought it for every friend I know who has back pain, and they have all benefited from it. Dr. Root does NOT talk in technical language, contrary to what one reviewer said. He talks in a comforting tone as if you have just walked into his office. And you follow him through all the conditions and into the last section -- which most of us considered the most valuable -- and that is the exercises. I've read lots of books with back exercises, but the way Root has organized these, selected them and divided them into stages you can advance to (or not), is the most helpful I've seen. The first section (A) of exercises done seriously for a period of months got me from a frustrating series of set-backs onto a relatively pain-free existence, after the initial pulling of my back. Everytime I slip, I refer to my Root book again. I recommend everyone have it on hand.

after reading this book, the condition of my back has deteriorated to the point that i can no longer stand, sit, nor lay without a stabbing pain traversing the entire length of my contorted spine. the book, though highly technical, gives no practical solutions for the man or wo-man with back pain. mr root, thank you... for nothing

This book provides some of the most effective lower back exercises and advice I have read. Root focuses on the physiology of the back, and the causes of back pain. While not light reading, the book is concise, understandable, and written with a sense of humor.

The author repeatedly emphasizes the need for an understanding of the back, and the necessity of incorporating back stretches into daily living. The descriptions of the exercises, combined with the clear illustrations, provide an excellent foundation to begin this program.

While this book may be out of print, it is well worth seeking out. I sincerely hope the publishers reissue it. I use Dr. Root's stretches on a daily basis. They have been very effective for me. I highly reccomend this book for anyone suffering from back pain.