I was preparing for surgery, and I searched once more for alternatives. The simple exercises in this book, along with other stretches for balance, have made an incredible improvement in my back pain!

This superb text documents the methods for immediate recovery from either acute injury and strain to the neck or back, as well as recovery from long-term chronic pain of back or neck. Once pain is eliminated, there are steps for ensuring a lifetime of back and neck freedom.

This is not an exercise book, but rather teaches manipulations and stretches that specifically relieve the pressure in the discs of the back and neck, allowing them to repair themselves.

My personal experience involves over 20 years of chronic back pain, with a recent MRI confirming bulged discs in the lower back. (These methods will also allow ruptured discs to heal themselves as well...without surgery) The book was recommended by my boss, and in merely four weeks of religiously doing the recommended stretches (a 5 minutes session of back extensions every 2 hours), my pain has gone from a constant level of 8 or 9 (on a 10 scale) to a very manageable 2, with good evidence that I will be pain free in another month or two.

I recently went for a scheduled physical therapy appointment. My PT endorsed the McKenzie method and was trained in this method (among several others) and was not surprised that I had achieved the results noted above, given her strong endorsement of this technique.

Easy to read, the book provides a tailored strategy for your personal ve

Compared to other book I purchased this one was a waste of money and time. Poor format, uninteresting and dull.

While not a replacement for physiotherapy, I found this information very useful. Great read. Very straight forward and easy to follow instructions. MacKenzie's method is brilliantly explained in easy-to-follow steps. Best of all it works. One of the best do-it-yourself health books that I have read in a long time. I can personally attest to relieving back pain using Dr. MacKenzie's methods. The price of the book is cheaper than a single visit to a physiotherapist. Not recommended for people with no background in physical conditioning, therapy or fitness. The classical out-of-shape person that tries some of these movements will often set themselves up for failure. So, use some caution.

Doug Setter
Author of Stomach Flattening

The exercises are very simple and they do not take much time.
I have had chronic low back pain for years and the results for me personally have been very good. This book has taught me to focus on better posture. This combined with the exercises has reduced my lower back pain drastically and has improved my flexibility as well.

This book was easy and interesting reading. It made me appreicate the importance of back exercises. I highly reccommend for people with a history of back pain.

I would never have believed that spending a few minutes a day with a little book could relieve my chronic back-pain, but I believe it now! I have lived with pain for years, and have had both my hips replaced. This gave me much relief, but I sit a lot, which causes pain in itself. My son has this book, and while visiting him I looked through it, and half-heartedly did a couple of exercises. I was surprised and delighted to find that my back felt better after a few minutes of the exercises. I ordered it from you when I went home, and when I received it I began to do the suggested movements as instructed. They are easy, have only to be done at my own pace, and the relief is extraordinary! The best thing is that I thought I would always have to rely on strong pain relievers, and it is now rarely that I take one, so the nausea I felt from their effects has gone too. An added bonus. It would be good to use this book before there was any pain - I feel it would keep the spine healthy for a lifetime.

This book was recommended to me by my orthopedist and my by physical therapist. It is very informative and the exercises are great. I have been using the book for about two years in conjunction with instructions from the above medical practitioners. The exercises really work to help you through and reduce the length of acute pain periods and when used daily significantly reduce episodes of acute pain.

This is suitable for healthy and athletic type younger people. Be careful if you have DDD (degenerated disc of the lumbar) or arthritis. This may give relief for couple of day but the pain comes back! The tension pose (equivalent of bending back) actually increased my pain after 2 weeks.

I am only 29 yrs old and have had a terrible back almost my whole life, and about 8 months ago, my worst ever back pain episode began and did not subside for another 6 months, until I read and began following the McKensie method principles.

My spine specialist almost demanded that I read this book, so I was a bit skeptical at first that he might be trying to promote the book for his own benefit. However, after having read and used the techniques outlined in this book for the first few days, I instantly became aware that my doctor was not trying to trick me, but rather, he gave me an incredibly valuable resource. I now do these stretches several times every day, and my back is practically pain free. I am able to go to the gym and exercise again without throwing out my back, and working an 8 hour day doesn't injure my back either. It's like a miracle. I am also seeing a McKensie method trained physical therapist now and am much better using his exercises when compared to the exercises of my old physical therapist.

I highly recommend giving this book a try if you have recurrent lower back pain that hurts most when sitting or standing, and is most severe when bending forward. It works better than all the doctors, acupuncturists, and physical therapists I've ever seen. And make sure your physical therapist is trained in the McKensie Method or else you could risk aggravating your back even further.

What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? A few months ago, I hurt my back loading a motorcycle onto a trailer. I've hurt my back many times, and it's always been the same story: medium pain level, rest, ice, and after a week or two I'm ready to go. However, after a few weeks this had not gotten better - but worse. Slowly I started to feel pain in my buttock and then all the way down to my ankle, so that I was walking with a limp. I tried the same stretches that had always worked (bringing my knees to my chest, crossing one leg over the other and twisting), and they did nothing. My condition got so bad that I went to see my doctor, who diagnosed a slipped disc and sciatica, and referred me to physical therapy.

A few days later, I woke up in so much pain that I called in sick to work. I simply could not move and spent the morning in bed. I started to get frustrated, as my physical therapy appointment was not for a few more days and I felt that my condition would not improve. For the first time, I started to feel hopeless. I felt that I was looking at a long road of slow recovery, and guesses as to what would fix the issue. The feeling of powerlessness that you have when the core of your body is weak is hard to describe unless you've experienced it.

I started to get mad, and began researching physical therapy techniques online. Almost everything came back to the McKenzie technique, which seemed to be universally lauded. I called my doctor and asked if I could give it a try on my own, and she said yes, so I got myself down to the bookstore and hobbled to the checkout line with my copy. I was walking like a 70 year old man and I'm only 27!

That was Monday; today is Thursday and my back feels better than it has in months. The sharp, burning pain that would travel down my back and leg has been reduced to a dull throbbing in the center of my back.

These exercises really work! It seems so simple, but looking back everyone I know told me to bend over and touch my toes or something similar, to loosen up my back. This book takes a much broader view, with exercises that loosen the spine in more than one angle, gradually pushing the vertebrae and discs back into alignment. I noticed small changes within a few hours, and within 24 hours noticed that my pain had shifted to a central location. Within 48 hours, the spring was back in my step!

As for the writing and book itself, it is well organized, easy to understand and accompanied by easy to follow photographs.

As many other people have said, please do go to a doctor first, and get their OK before trying these exercises!

I've been in pain for 6 months but just a few days of these exercises and the pain is gone. It's a quick read and the illustrations make the exercises easy to do. The testimonials were overkill and I skipped most of them. Back doctors may be put out of business!

What can I say about this book that hasn't already been said? A few months ago, I hurt my back loading a motorcycle onto a trailer. I've hurt my back many times, and it's always been the same story: medium pain level, rest, ice, and after a week or two I'm ready to go. However, after a few weeks this had not gotten better - but worse. Slowly I started to feel pain in my buttock and then all the way down to my ankle, so that I was walking with a limp. I tried the same stretches that had always worked (bringing my knees to my chest, crossing one leg over the other and twisting), and they did nothing. My condition got so bad that I went to see my doctor, who diagnosed a slipped disc and sciatica, and referred me to physical therapy.

A few days later, I woke up in so much pain that I called in sick to work. I simply could not move and spent the morning in bed. I started to get frustrated, as my physical therapy appointment was not for a few more days and I felt that my condition would not improve. For the first time, I started to feel hopeless. I felt that I was looking at a long road of slow recovery, and guesses as to what would fix the issue. The feeling of powerlessness that you have when the core of your body is weak is hard to describe unless you've experienced it.

I started to get mad, and began researching physical therapy techniques online. Almost everything came back to the McKenzie technique, which seemed to be universally lauded. I called my doctor and asked if I could give it a try on my own, and she said yes, so I got myself down to the bookstore and hobbled to the checkout line with my copy. I was walking like a 70 year old man and I'm only 27!

That was Monday; today is Thursday and my back feels better than it has in months. The sharp, burning pain that would travel down my back and leg has been reduced to a dull throbbing in the center of my back.

These exercises really work! It seems so simple, but looking back everyone I know told me to bend over and touch my toes or something similar, to loosen up my back. This book takes a much broader view, with exercises that loosen the spine in more than one angle, gradually pushing the vertebrae and discs back into alignment. I noticed small changes within a few hours, and within 24 hours noticed that my pain had shifted to a central location. Within 48 hours, the spring was back in my step!

As for the writing and book itself, it is well organized, easy to understand and accompanied by easy to follow photographs.

As many other people have said, please do go to a doctor first, and get their OK before trying these exercises!

My take in short: it's always good to see a doctor with you have significant back or neck pain, but McKenzie exercises and certified physical therapist worked miracles for me.

About a year ago, I began to develop symptoms of cervical radiculopathy. It began as a combination of pain in my upper right arm and tingling in the right hand. A few weeks later I discovered that extension (bending my head back) intensified the pain, and flexion (bending forward) relieved it. As the symptoms gradually got worse, I consulted a chiropractor and an accupuncturist, but no improvement. Next I saw an orthopedic surgeon and a pain doctor. The orthopedist, with the help of x-rays and an MRI, provided a clear diagnosis (herniated disk at C5-C6), but the first option he offered, pain relievers, didn't help, and the next two (cortisone epidural injection, neck surgery) seemed like bad ideas after I'd researched them. (The epidural may or may not help in the short term, but can make things worse long term. The surgery is a roll of the dice, where you may get better, worse, or stay the same, partly depending on the skill of the surgeon. I have one friend who had catastrophic results from back surgery, which influenced my thinking.)

I discovered McKenzie's book on Amazon, bought it, and began doing the exercises. Things got gradually better until a long airplane flight where I think I slept too long with my head slumped forward (because leaning back was too painful). My symptoms got much worse. For the next several weeks, I had severe, 24/7 pain in my neck and arm - I learned more than I wanted to know about how bad pain can be and how much it can disrupt your life. Almost nothing helped, and I stopped the exercises because I wasn't sure if they would help or hurt.

I got a consult with the most experienced and credentialed McKenzie physical therapist in my area. He looked at the report from the orthopedist and conducted his own exam. He did a variety of exercises and manipulations in his office, advised me to do the McKenzie exercises more aggressively, and added some exercises to increase strength in my right arm. After three visits in the first week, not much changed, but after a couple more visits in the second week, I got better fast. Within a month, I was symptom-free, and, two months later, still am. Apparently, the combination of his manipulations and the exercise program pushed the disk back where it belonged, eliminating pressure on the nerve.

I now follow McKenzie's advice for what to do when you no longer have pain, doing neck exercises twice a day. It only takes a few minutes each session and it's more than worth it if it keeps the pain away.

Three months ago I developed a bulging disc in my back. The pain was in my back and radiated down my right leg. The pain during standing, sitting, and during exercise was excruciating. I could not even stand for more than one minute. I tried going to a chiropractor, orthopedic doctor, physical therapy, and prescription medication. I paid over $1,000 in insurance co-payments. After all that the pain was still there. A friend told me about this book. I have been doing the exercises exactly as it says to in the book for a week now. I have virtually no pain. Even when I do have pain it is much more mild and it is manageable. I stopped taking the prescription medications. I highly recommend this book to anyone suffering from pain like I described. It really works.

Everyone's back issue is different (as judged by the contrasting reviews of this book), but this book and the McKenzie method has changed my back pain situation dramatically.
I was diagnosed as having degenerative disc disease (osteoarthritis) and told very explicitly to give up running and lifting free weights.
My pain was in the thoracic (middle spine) and developed when driving a car, sitting at the computer, and during the end of my run (more on the importance of that later).
I also have been doing yoga twice daily for over six years. The doctor told me to continue with the yoga.
While the yoga was of course VERY helpful, I still developed the pain the above described positions.
The problem for myself and millions of others, was the totally unhealthy position of sitting at a desk. We slouch over, which eventually leads to long term pain.
The problem in no way shape or form was my running or weight lifting per se. The reason I was in pain at the tail end of runs was my form suffered, crouching over.
On the first weekend with Dr. McKenzie, I followed all of his directions. In essence, this means stretching every two hours with backbends and forward bends. I am allowed to take breaks, and use them for this at work.
Almost immediately, the pain decreased, and the near constant discomfort was gone. I combined this with the recommendation of the book The Posture Prescription to squat or kneel. I no longer use a chair at work. (Yes, everyone asks me, and I hate explaining myself, but it's a small price to pay).
Dr. McKenzie gave me (and many other athletes) great solace in explaining that our physical activity was NOT the source of our problems, but rather inactivity after exercise. Crouching, slumping, etc.
Now, between sets I do five-six McKenzie standing backbends. During runs, at the half-way point, I do a forward bend followed by a few backbends.
I'm nearly certain Dr. McKenzie can help you take control of your back problems, too.
Thanks to his sage advice, I'm running pain free again, lifting, and I now use a lumbar roll (his are available on Amazon.com) in the car.
Thank you Dr. McKenzie.

The first thing to understand that there is no miracle formula to be obtained from this book. The exercises are very basic. The second thing to understand is once you have resolved your pain issues, you have to make an investment of about 3-5 minutes each day to perform maintenance exercises; thus, to keep the pain away. This isn't a one-time fix all only when pain shows up.

If you think about the anatomy of the back (or do some basic research) and how the discs can be affected by various day-to-day movements, you can understand why these basic exercises are effective. There are pointed warnings to advise you NOT to perform certain activities if you have a certain conditions. If you choose to skim through the book (which is a big No-No when self treating), it is possible you will not read the warnings, and thus could injure yourself.

For lower back related issues, your basically exercising your discs in the opposite fashion as you would during the day with normal activity. Normal daily activity has us bending forward most of the time and exerting pressure on one side of our discs. The premise is to ensure we also exercise the other side of the discs to keep them from "sliding" around or developing bulges. The exercises are set-up for an individual to progress from simple easy positions to the more "aggressive" exercising position over time. The key is not rushing the process.

I had a bulging disc remove about 9 months ago. I am an avid runner and my sciatica started to have its gradual flare ups. I purchased this book and began performing the lower back exercises. My gradual flare ups gradually disappeared. After a couple weeks, no pain at all. I continue to perform the maintenance exercises to ensure I keep the sciatica at bay, which is recommended in the book. I would suggest this book prior to having surgery, which I did not have the opportunity to try. It has helped post surgery, however.

After being out a week from work due to lower back pain, a friend let me borrow two others from McKenzie, Treat Your Own Back and Treat Your Own Neck. All three were very helpful as was gettting in a pool & stretching. By combining these exercises Robin recommends with pool stretching, the pain was relieved within a few weeks.

I have also been using Targus AWE26US Ergonomic M-stand for Notebook Computers at work with my notebook which has eliminated most all of my upper neck pain. Also, walking for 20-30 minutes each day at lunch and getting a better chair really helps lower back pain. Steelcase's Leap chair has been the best one I've used so far.

The other thing you hear a lot is not to sit more than 20 minutes without getting up for at least a minute or two. I use this program, "Take A Break", which blinks on my laptop to remind me to do that. It's a free download from [..].

My doctor recommended this book when I was in his office for the second time with extreme neck pain. In just a matter of days my pain has diminished. Now it is almost completely gone. The exercises are easy and takes very little time to do. The key to living pain free is to continue doing them. I highly recommend this book to anyone with neck and back pain.

Don't buy this book if you have tingling or numbness.It tells you not to do any of these movements if you have tingling or numbness.After my t&n stopped I tried to do these movements and it came back so the book is right.This book is only for dealing with pain.For thoughs of us with tingling and numbness look elsewhere.

I am so glad I purchased this book! I actually bought two. One to keep and one to loan to friends and family that has had lower back problems. I started these exercises and I noticed a difference almost immediately. They are easy, and it only takes a few minutes to do them. My back is better and now I do them to help keep it healthy.

First of all, I'm a very active person, so sports injuries are part of my life. However, when I pinched a nerve in my back using a rubber exercise ball that laid me out on the ground it was a new injury for me. Going to both a sport chiropractor and acupuncture practitioner resulted in minimal improvement from both after several months of treatment and considerable expense. Credit goes to a neighbor seeing me almost crawl up the outside stairs who lent me this book by Robin McKenzie. McKenzie's rational made sense to me with a logical plan for extension and compression exercises to heal the discs in the back lumbar area. The healing occurred over about 20 days by faithfully following McKenzie's exercise plan several times a day. Since that time I have worked out a shoulder problem with the neck exercises and a sciatic problem down my right leg from aggressive biking. I have given this book to many people since buying it and highly recommend everyone with back and neck issues give this a try before doing something radical - like surgery.

I was referred to this book by a relative when I was suffering from back pain. I wasn't expecting it to help, but I was desparate so I tried the exercises. They really helped. I have continued with them especially when I have a flare up. I highly recommend this book.

This is a GREAT book!!

If you are having issue with hand numbness, upper back/neck tightness, PLEASE read this book and give it a try.

Years back I had lower back issues. A physical therapist applied the Mckenzie techniques to fix me up when nothing else was working. Now I have very little to no lower back issues.

I work all day typing at computer. About a year back I started having neck pains, loss of neck mobility and then hand pain and then hand numbness. I went to chiroprators and massage and doctors and physical therapist and personal trigger point massage... well nothing realy solved it. I became depressed and felt hopeless. Felt that I'd have to give up my career etc. Not good.

Reading this book and applying the stuff in it... In particular the stuff about lumbar support and proper posture proved to be the missing peice. I am not magically healed or anything, but I now have the tools to keep my symptoms under control.

Please give it a chance. It may prove to be the missing peice for you as well.

this book is important for every one who has a back "issue". given 5 as gifts to loved one's experiencing back pain.

I read this book quickly in order to deal with back pain. After reviewing it, and in conjunction with a physical therapist, was able to recover quickly. My physical therapist was impressed that I purchased this book, as he stated that McKenzie is well known and respected in his field.

If you have not read others books on the same subject this is a great first read. Suggestions do work.

In my opinion, Robin McKenzie is the preeminent physical therapist in the world and especially in my world. His is the one and only method that works for me. I should know, I am a veteran back pain sufferer, having incurred two surgeries both of which left me with a lot of pain. I came to the McKenzie method through my own research and lots of trail & error with other back exercises. After my last surgery, I was surprised that my physical therapist used the McKenzie exercises in their course of treatment, so it certainly reinforced the fact that I had found my personal path to controlling my back pain. The latest order for this book was a gift to my brother-in-law.

This book is much more than a few simple exercises. It taught me a lot of things, from why I should not be lifting heavy things first thing in the morning to what is the proper way to sneeze (looking up). Posture is extremely important.The pain will surely come back if the posture is not corrected, no matter how many exercises you do all these things was necessary for me to learn from this book.Read the book and learn from the advice about good posture etc,.So the book really helps me, and I completely recommend it.

This book is concise enough not to bore, but thorough enough to clarify the details. This has been the only method that has truly relieved my degenerative disc pain.

This book is amazing. My husband has back problems and this book was suggested by a friend.....it is definetly a must read! The few suggestions have changed my husbands life and so many of our friends ...we passed the book along and one friend was thinking surgery but after following the suggestions he is now convinced he does not need the surgery. We have four friends that swear by this book and the tips the author gives...thay are pain free and have passed the suggestions to many more people.

I have enjoyed this book very much It has a lot of pictures and details all lessons In a very simple form this book can actually get you back to your old self. It Is very Informative! by doing everything in steps, and you can go at your own pace. I would like to add there are more books out there just use your own wit.

L.J.N.

I heard about this book for a while and never read it. Then I herniated a disc in my back and nothing fixed...except these exercises. It was a miracle. If you have back pain you must read this book.

Marina Kushner
Author
The Truth About Caffeine: How Companies That Promote It Deceive Us and What We Can Do about It

Has stretches that definitely help reduce chronic neck and back pain. Recommended by my physician. Stunned that the chiropractor never told me about it!

This book was written in a clear and straight foward style and packed with invaluable information for back and neck pain sufferers.

The no nonsense approach was not only inspirational but had practical and achievable suggestions and very specific exsercise and life style directions to better achieve pain releif from back and neck problems.

Great book!

This book is much more than a few simple exercises. It taught me a lot of things, from why I should not be lifting heavy things first thing in the morning to what is the proper way to sneeze (looking up). Posture is extremely important.The pain will surely come back if the posture is not corrected, no matter how many exercises you do all these things was necessary for me to learn from this book.Read the book and learn from the advice about good posture etc,.So the book really helps me, and I completely recommend it.

I heard about this book for a while and never read it. Then I herniated a disc in my back and nothing fixed...except these exercises. It was a miracle. If you have back pain you must read this book.
My best friend bought me this book and another book called The Truth About Caffeine : How Companies That Promote it Deceive Us and What We Can Do About It. Since he knows I quit black tea recently, he's been really wonderful helping me in cope with my mood swings. This book is a labor of love I loved the book and don't miss coffee one bit. Buy it here or visit CaffeineAwareness.org for more info.

My title says it all... after weeks of physical therapy to help my terrible neck/shoulder pain, very very little change had taken place even after doing the stretches they prescribed and trying all their various treatments (electricty, etc.). But after i found this book and read it and did the McKenzie stretches et cetera rigorously for about 2 or 3 weeks, I felt 100% better! I still use the stretches and practice good posture today and I am so glad I found this book.

Reading this book and going to yoga classes finally made me realize that my problem neck was really a posture problem. I used to try to stand up straight but I didn't seem to be able to do it more than a few seconds. Now I understand the anatomy of the spine and that, among other things, I was constantly jutting my chin out, and that this was sending everything else off balance. I used to get headaches when I stretched my neck in certain ways and of course I couldn't do yoga inversion postures like half-candle pose, etc. Now I can do those comfortably by reminding myself to gently retract my chin.

A word about the person who wrote the review saying he had badly hurt himself doing the exercises: the book does give careful guidelines about who can safely do these exercises. I don't remember them saying anything about "going beyond the pain," but they do say the exercises can, for a very short time, cause more pain, but that this is okay as long as the pain is centralizing - in other words, in my case, that meant that while doing the neck exercises, my pain became a little worse in the actual neak but left my head. Still, I was very ginger about doing the exercises and really didn't do them as much and as often as recommended. That was okay for me because, by correcting my posture, I got the same results. I think what another reviewer said, about checking with your doctor or therapist to see which type of injury you have (posture-related or not) is a good idea.

And I think it's probably a good idea to read this book whether you do the exercises or not, just to help you understand the common spinal disorders related to bad posture (which very, very many of us have).

If you are a person with back pain, this book is a must-have! It is very well written and is very easy to understand. The exercises incorporated by the Mckenzie method are simple yet very effective. It can help people with occasional or chronic back pain.

Mckenzie book has offered me some new ways of working out my back pain.Found the information useful and easy to understand. I don't really understand his method but it helps me never the less.

Over the past many years and repeated bouts of severe back pain, I have tried many programs ( yoga, chiropractic, etc. ) in order to gain relief and to prevent future episodes. The simple, sensible approach from Mr. Kenzie's book is the finest program I have ever used. My back has never felt better, totally free of pain and restriction.

7 Steps to pain free life-overall good book but I think it will take me about 50 more steps before I feel great again. But I keep trying, I learned about proper sitting and standing to take stress off my back which was helpful a little. I bought a ball to sit on like the author recommended and that seems to help some when I have to sit long hours in front of the computer.

i read this book many times,it can help but i feel there are a lot of books much better..its good as basic knowledge only.

as advertised

In February 2002 I developed a problem with my back after a rough racquetball game, followed by shoveling heavy snow a few weeks later. At first, it was a subtle pain/annoyance, getting worse when sneezing, twisting, etc. But after shoveling the snow I could not get out of bed the next day. The pain was terrible, especially in the morning. I could not walk at first without pain. I could not lift my left leg.

I went to the orthopedic who diagnosed "sciatica". I had an MRI done and it showed disc bulge in all levels of my low back ( L1-L2, L2-L3, L3-L4, L4-L5, L5-S1) with herniation at L4-L5.

I had "pain blocks" (shots in my spine) that did not help, and only pain killers made it possible to go through the day. After several months from the first attack, I was able to walk slowly (dragging my left foot) and the pain level was reduced to general discomfort with some random pain attacks on my left leg, below the knee.

There seemed to be no progress, until a friend mentioned the back extension exercises, advocated by a Physical Therapist from New Zealand, called Robin McKenzie. Until this point, I was trying to do a bit of exercises which involved flexion, usually lay on my back on the ground and bring my knees to my chest slowly. These felt comfortable but did not improve my condition. McKenzie says that you need to do the opposite, lay on your belly and push up trying to bend your back backwards.

A healthy person should be able to bend his or her back both ways, forward (flexion) and backwards (extension). Apparently, I had completely lost the flexibility for bending my back backwards and my forward flexibility was severely reduced. The extensions felt extremely uncomfortable at first, even painful. However, especially since my orthopedic said it was OK to try these extensions, I decided to give them a try and see what happens.

Within one week I was pain free!

That was late May 2002. But my problems did not stop there. I started physical therapy via my orthopedic. Instead of continuing with the extension exercises which had removed my pain, the PT started me in abdominal strengthening and other exercises that included a lot of flexion. Now, under different circumstances these exercises might have been fine, but for me, still having nerve compression, these were really out of sequence. Also, feeling better I started using the computer more and repairing cameras, which meant very bad posture for long hours. My progress was halted. Three weeks later the PT said I was officially recovered. Two days after that, I had another attack, as bad as the first one! I was devastated!

At this point I wised up and ordered Robin McKenzie's book. That was a revelation for me. I read the book non-stop and immediately started the extensions recommended in the book. In one week again I was pain-free. But this time I continued the exercises until the pressure in my toes was reduced. And I also corrected my posture which was the root of many of my back problems. I did go to a different physical therapist, one that was trained in the McKenzie system. She was a very nice person and it was nice having someone monitor and discuss my progress, but I could have skipped this and just followed the book.

This book is much more than a few simple exercises. It taught me a lot of things, from why I should not be lifting heavy things first thing in the morning to what is the proper way to sneeze (looking up). Most important, it made me realize how important good posture is. I always thought it was an afterthought. A good thing to know but not really important. Guess what? Posture is extremely important! The pain will surely come back if the posture is not corrected, no matter how many exercises you do!

We spend a lot of time sitting, usually with bad posture, and then we bend forward a lot. As a result of overuse of flexion, our discs are deformed and we are setting ourselves up for future back problems. The extension exercises aim to compensate for the frequent forward bending and restore the shape of the discs. They are actually a good thing for a healthy (pain-free) person to do.

Bottom line: Read the book and learn from the advice about good posture, etc. Then check with your doctor and if he/she approves the extension exercises, try them. They might save your life, as they did with me. Three years after my painful back pain attack I am OK, I have resumed running and completed 2 marathons, thanks to Robin McKenzie. Good luck to you!!

I have suffered with back pain for 32 years, including three surgeries (all in the lower back) in the first 10 years of the degenerative disc disease. The exercises outlined in this book, which I learned in conjunction with physical therapists associated with the New York University medical center, have been immensely helpful in preventing on-going pain and any severe reoccurrence.

Of course, you should do these exercises only with the consultation of a doctor and/or physical therapist, especially if you have acute back pain caused by a protruding or ruptured disc. Also, of course, you should combine them (eventually) with a program to strengthen and stretch your muscles. But, as many of you know, with back pain it can be very difficult to do these other exercises until you have found fundamental relief to the underlying causes of the pain, and these exercises, properly applied and for the right cases, can accomplish this.

The limited amount of time they take (litereally a couple of minutes) make these exercises very easy to maintain over time.

Robin McKenzie has been acknowledged around the world for his work with back pain. His credentials are strong. If you have found many other books to be generic and not that helpful, this one is different. If the "popularizer" title puts you off, or if you are wanting a more in-depth anlaysis-- even if only to reassure yourself of the legitamacy of the medicine behind the exercises-- you can buy and read the formal textbooks he has written.

Good luck!

I have suffered from lower back pain for the past 20 years. At the age of 35, I find that 'dinging my back' gets easier. An episode is very predictable now... between 4 and 6 days to recover. I know the drill.

About a year ago, my sister, who suffers from upper back pain, recommended this book. She said it changed her life. So I read the book from cover to cover and learned the exercises. In reality, they are all stretches.

A month after reading the book, I was shoveling some dirt in the back yard, and I got that all too familiar 'pop' in my lower back. Darn it... I immediately dropped to the ground and did the lower back stretches. The most amazing thing happened. The usual 5 day recovery cycle (and I know them well) simply did not happen. No pain but a little restriction in back movement. One day recovery, which is amazing.

So the book really helps me, and I completely recommend it. If you read all the reviews on this site, you will note some criticisms that the book does not address all types of back pain. Frankly, that is fair enough. The McKinsey Method targets problems with the spinal curvature (lolsarsis) of the lower and upper back. Luckily for me, those tend to be my problems, and they are fairly common problem areas.

So is it a magic bullet? No. No reputable doctor will tell you there is any magic bullet for anything. Does it dramatically increase your odds of establishing some control over your lower and upper back pain? In my humble opinion, yes. Are the exercises mostly preventative in nature, and just really good ideas? In my humble opinion, absolutely.

So if you are looking to establish some measure of control over your back pain, the book is worth a look. In my case, it was the best 10 dollars I ever spent, and has paid for itself many times. I used to see my chiropractor once or twice a month. Now I see him every four months for a maintenance adjustment. The difference is amazing.

Wishing you good health and a pain free back,

Richard

This book is a must for anyone suffering from back, glute, leg pain and/or sciata. It is very easy to read and follow. There are pictures along with descriptions of the exercises. The exercises do not take long to learn. They also do not require a lot of time each day to do. There are case studies to read throughout the book. There are also variations of the exercises and strategies in case you are not responsive to the original program. Your recovery might not happen as quickly as the case studies in the book, but keep using the exercises. They do help. Dr. McKenzie does write about the limitations of his program and admits that it might not help everyone. He advises that you seek medical help for certain situations. I bet, however, that everyone in back pain can get some relief following this program. This book was recommended to me by my general practioner after attending regular physcial therapy sessions to no avail. I wish we would have started with this book. It would have saved me a lot of money.

Maybe this book works for some but for me... not at all. Unfortunately there is no magic exercise or position that cures back pain. I have herniated discs and I have found that stretching and religiously strengthening my back and abdominal muscles (especially the deep stomach muscles) to be the most effective way to tackle and prevent pain. Try a simple, modified pilates program!