After suffering a life tragedy about 8 years ago I started having unrelenting, debilitating back pain and spasms. I was given a myriad of tests and prescriptions, went to physical therapy and even when to a pain specialist. After a couple of visits the pain specialist recommended Dr. Sarnos book. I read the book all the way through and went back and reread the areas that pertained to my situation. Over the next few weeks my tension myositis disappeared. I have recommended this book to anyone I know with chronic, debilitating pain.

A few years later after my first pregnancy I suffered from carpal tunnel syndrome. After a while I remembered Dr. Sarnos book discussing carpal tunnel. I reread the book and my symptoms eased substantially.

Even if, like I, the pain does not go away I'm positive Dr. Sarnos' insight into the Mind Body connection will help those with chronic pain manage the stress induced symptoms.

The chapters on psychology may be a bit too detailed for most people, nevertheless, this is an excellent reference book for understanding a variety of ailments and bodily pains, often misdiagnosed, but usually caused by tension. It is also a good complement to Dr. sarno's Healing back pain, which helped me recover from chronic pain in my back, legs, knees, feet, neck, arms, and hands, and completely disability. Here's a list of tension-related conditons Dr. Sarno mentions in this book that is often misgiagnosed:

Head, face, and mouth: dizziness, ringing in the ear (tinnitus), migraine headaches, Tempromandibular joint syndrome (TMJ), teeth grinding, canker sores, Bell's palsy, trigeminal neuralgia, Raynaud's phenomenon, spasmodic dysphonia

Back, hip, and leg: Degenerative osteoarthritis, sciatica, pinched nerve, spinal stenosis, scoliosis, ruptured or herniated disc, spondylolisthesis, the pryformis syndrome, osteoarthritis of the hip, spina bifida occulta, pulled hamstring, ondylolysis, fibromyalgia, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, myofacial pain syndrome, post-polio syndrome, facet syndrome

Neck, shoulder, arm, and hand: osteoarthritis, pinched nerve, thoracic outlet syndrome (TOC), repetitive stress injury (RSI), whiplash, carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis, tennis elbow, torn rotator cuff

Cardiopulmonary system: asthma, sinusitis, hay fever, palpitations, some types of high blood pressure, chronic bronchitis, tachycardia, mitral valve prolapse (heart murmur), ectopic heartbeat

Skin: rash, acne, hives, psoriasis

Gastrointestinal system: colitis, heartburn, hiatal hernia, spastic colon, irritable bowel syndrome, cramps and chronic diarrhea not caused by an infection, chronic constipation

Genitourinary system: prostatitis, frequent urination, frequent urinary tract infections

knees and feet: tendonitis, chondromalacia patella, torn meniscus, bone spurs, neuroma, plantar fasciitis, leg cramps, metatarsalgia, shin splints

Immune system: repeated colds and infections, yeast infections, Epstein-Barr virus (mononucleosis), hay fever

Other manifestations of repressed anger may be:
Ï Subclinical depression
Ï Depression
Ï Anxiety attacks
Ï Chronic fatigue syndrome
Ï Bulimia
Ï Anorexia
Ï Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia
Ï Some acquired allergies
Ï Chronic pain
Ï Lyme disease (a bacterial infection caused by tick bites; however, finding the antibody titer in the blood is blamed for the cause of chronic pain)
Ï Spasms of the diaphragm, chest, and lungs, leading to hiccups, angina, and asthma respectively.

This is definitely an excellent reference to have in one's personal library.

The Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain

I've read the other reviews for this book. Some are lengthy, erudite discussions of the fine points of Sarno's theories.

I think everyone who has really thought about it seriously, realizes that of course our minds can control our bodies to an extent. Sarno's basic thinking is that most diseases, chronic pain, etc. can be grouped together in one neat package, and by using his process, cures and relief can be affected.

In many cases, I think this is true. My only problem with the premise of the book is that if you accept his ideas and use his process, but do not experience a diminishing of pain, or a cure for a chronic condition, it's your fault for not doing it well enough, long enough, or correctly. This may not be his intent, but it's what I came away with after having read the book carefully, twice, highlighting important points.

I find it problematic that if a patient tries very hard, follows all the steps outlined, and still suffers, he/she will exacerbate the chronic condition or chronic pain because of guilt and feelings of failure.

This is one person's opinion. Take it for what it's worth. I will continue to meditate, use biofeedback, and rest in a dark room when I get a debilitating migraine. And, yes, I will medicate according to my pain doctor's directions, too.

This book has completely changed the way I think about my physical and
emotional well-being. It was recommended to me when I was in excruciating shoulder pain, from which I am now completely healed, but it has also had a radical effect on me in other ways. I used to obsess over all kinds of physical symptoms, convinced that there was something wrong with me that the doctors weren't able to find. Thanks to Dr. Sarno, I'm now able to stop obsessing, and look for emotional causes.

My two favorite things about this book:
1. Dr. Sarno makes it absolutely clear that experiencing psychosomatic symptoms like pain do not mean that you are crazy or neurotic; rather, they are a normal, unconscious response that everyone experiences at some time and in some form.

2. There is not the slightest bit of touchy-feely woo-hoo in this book. Dr. Sarno is actually a very scientific, logical kind of thinker, and came to his conclusions because they make the most logical sense after years and years of experience treating patients.

I can't recommend this book, or any of Dr. Sarno's books too highly. If you're experiencing pain that doesn't quite make sense and that doctors haven't been able to help, you need this book.

If you have suffered from back or neck pain, then this book is a must read. Dr. Sarno has practiced at NYU for many years and has helped numerous patients overcome these physical ailments. The book is clearly written with many examples, which helps the reader to understand the principles and identify whether these apply to him/her. Dr. Sarno works with the concept TMS, tension myositis syndrome, which is used to explain how pain (or other sensory problems) can occur in various parts of the body for no clear (conscious) reasons. He reviews the details of TMS repeatedly throughout the book, again using many examples from actual patients.

Dr. Sarno explains that many people experience relief of the pain through insight and coming to understand that their mind (brain) is responsible for the pain. Essentially, unconscious anger (and other emotions) create the physical response by decreasing blood flow and oxygen to the painful areas of the body. As the mind heals, so does the body. Dr. Sarno helps to heal the mind through this book by educating the reader about TMS and this process. Furthermore, he helps the reader understand that the pain is real (not imagined) and has an actual physical cause (i.e., reduction of oxygen) which is not dangerous or permanent. By reading the book, the mind's process for causing the pain is exposed and now rendered useless in distracting the patient from the underlying causes (i.e., anger). Therefore, the pain should decrease and stop altogether once this genuine insight is gained by the reader.

In summary, Dr. Sarno's book is extremely helpful for those experiencing real day-to-day pain. He provides hope for those who have suffered from pain, in some cases for years, and he helps to end the pain where others have failed.

The human anatomy is a marvelous organism, adapted to the ways of the world over hundreds of thousands of years, and extremely capable of self-correcting the damage in 95% of the injuries and disorders to which the body is susceptible--from whiplash to carpal tunnel syndrome to fibromyalgia to chronic fatigue syndrome to (more controversially) helicobacter pylori bacteria, hiatal hernias and Lyme disease. What about those folks who live in chronic pain, well beyond the normal limits of the body's requirements for healing itself? Will they stand to being told their pain is not "real"? Slim chance--in fact, the author would no doubt agree with them: their pain is real enough. But if the basis of the disorder is undiagnosable, or unmeasurable as far as the usual tests are concerned, then perhaps it's time to look with more than casual interest into the territory of the subconscious--its contents; its subversive, frequently irrational motives; its self-protective scenarios and clever evasive tactics.

In other words, Sarno questions whether the physician's common diagnosis for so-called "functional illnesses"--"somataform disorder"--is of any more use to anyone than the out-of-favor term "psychosomatic." The former term simply applies a specific, impressive-sounding name to a vague EFFECT; the latter at least attaches the word to a mind-body connection implicating a CAUSE.

Sarno's conclusions are often more suggestive than conclusive, his claims of cures more conspicuous that the methodology by which to achieve the cure or stop the pain (it's hard to take overly seriously the back-cover testimonials of relief experienced by celebrities ranging from Howard Stern to Anne Bancroft, at least based on the limited evidence in this book). Nevertheless, the author's notions frequently make sense, and if, to the displeasure of some, they reclaim the wisdom of Freud, perhaps it's high time the towering Viennese intellectual be taken seriously in ways other than vilification.

Watching PBS trot out another medicine man at public television fund-raising time, prescribing everything from vitamins to fish oil to St. John's Wort to amino acids to Effexor and Wellbutrin in order to "change the structure of the brain" (those nasty chemical imbalances of the brain, addressed through altering the neurotransmitters--and now it's extended to the gut--those unfriendly bacteria, addressed by eating the right manufacturer's yogurt with the right friendly bacteria) is enough to make you question the quality of the information that is currently being dispensed as a "public service" to the community.

Knowledge is power, and for that reason Sarno's book is at least a useful beginning toward a lasting prescription for extinguishing seemingly endless, all-but-life-ending pain. If you're a doubter, there are some rather simple tests to put Sarno's (and Freud's) ideas to the test. Let's say you're feeling absolutely awful, generally and specifically--headache, anvils in the chest, pokers in the gut, brain fog comparable to a surgical anesthetic, sharp, jabbing pains in your neck, sides, and back as though your worst nemesis is playing you like a voodoo doll, and then there's always that darn sore heel. Now think of someone you love or feel dependent on--a parent, a dog or cat, an only son or daughter. Imagine receiving without the least bit of preparation a message in the middle of the night informing you of the worst--the unthinkable. Now imagine the degree to which those aches and pains of just a few minutes ago matter to you, deserving to reclaim prime-time real estate in the subconscious territory formerly reserved for its sole VIP resident. Granted, the pain may be no less, but isn't it remarkable how it travels to other places, making itself felt in entirely different ways?

The mind is a powerful thing--exceeding the little surface area we call the brain, or conscious memory, and indeed capable of having its way with matter. It laughs at booze, pills, probiotics, "health" foods, vitamins, "smart" drugs, antidepressants, exercise and meditation therapies of all sorts. It can destroy, or perhaps merely facilitate an ongoing problematic condition, but it can also repair. To deal with its powerful potential--for harm or healing--you need to be able to match it with knowledge of your own. Sarno is a good beginning (and so are some first-rate "Eastern" thinkers, like Chopra, when he chooses to be).

The human anatomy is a marvelous organism, adapted to the ways of the world over hundreds of thousands of years, and extremely capable of self-correcting the damage in 95% of the injuries and disorders to which the body is susceptible--from whiplash to carpal tunnel syndrome to fibromyalgia to chronic fatigue syndrome. What about those folks who live in chronic pain, well beyond the normal limits of the body's requirements for healing itself? Will they stand to be told their pain is not "real"? Slim chance--in fact, the author would no doubt agree with them: their pain is real enough. But if the basis of the disorder is undiagnosable, or unmeasurable as far as the usual tests are concerned, then perhaps it's time to look with more than casual interest into the territory of the subconscious--its contents; its subversive, frequently irrational motives; its self-protective scenarios and clever evasive tactics.

In other words, Sarno questions whether the physician's common diagnosis for so-called "functional illnesses"--"somataform disorder"--is of any more use to anyone than the out-of-favor term "psychosomatic." The former term simply applies a specific, impressive-sounding name to a vague EFFECT; the latter at least attaches the word to a mind-body connection implicating a CAUSE.

Sarno's conclusions are often more suggestive than conclusive, his claims of cures more conspicuous that the methodology by which to achieve the cure or stop the pain (it's hard to take overly seriously the back-cover testimonials of relief experienced by celebrities ranging from Howard Stern to Anne Bancroft, at least based on the limited evidence in this book). Nevertheless, the author's notions frequently make sense, and if, to the displeasure of some, they reclaim the wisdom of Freud, perhaps it's high time the towering Viennese intellectual be taken seriously in ways other than vilification.

Watching PBS trot out another medicine man at public television fund-raising time, prescribing everything from vitamins to fish oil to St. John's Wort to amino acids to Effexor and Wellbutrin in order to "change the structure of the brain" (those nasty chemical imbalances of the brain, addressed through altering the neurotransmitters--and now it's extended to the gut--those unfriendly bacteria, addressed by eating the right manufacturer's yogurt with the right friendly bacteria) is enough to make you question the quality of the information that is currently being dispensed as a "public service" to the community.

Knowledge is power, and for that reason Sarno's book is at least a useful beginning toward a lasting prescription for seemingly endless, all-but-life-ending pain. If you're a doubter, there are some rather simple tests to put Sarno's (and Freud's) ideas to the test. Let's say you're feeling absolutely awful, generally and specifically--headache, anvils in the chest, pokers in the gut, brain fog comparable to a surgical anesthetic, sharp, jabbing pains in your neck, sides, and back as though your worst nemesis is playing you like a voodoo doll, and then there's always that darn sore heel. Now think of someone you love or feel dependent on--a parent, a dog or cat, an only son or daughter. Imagine receiving without the least bit of preparation a message in the middle of the night informing you of the worst--the unthinkable. Now imagine the degree to which those aches and pains of just a few minutes ago matter to you, deserving to reclaim prime-time real estate in the subconscious territory formerly reserved for its sole VIP resident. Granted, the pain may be no less, but isn't it remarkable how it travels to other places, making itself felt in entirely different ways?

The mind is a powerful thing--exceeding the little surface area we call the brain, or conscious memory, and indeed capable of having its way with matter. It laughs at booze, pills, probiotics, "health" foods, vitamins, "smart" drugs, antidepressants, exercise and meditation therapies of all sorts. It can destroy, it can repair. To deal with its powerful, potentially dangerous knowledge, you need to be able to match it with knowledge of your own. Sarno is a good beginning (and so are some first-rate "Eastern" minds, like Chopra's, when it chooses to be).

My physican "prescribed" this book for me. I have suffered with chronic hives and deep edema for over ten years and have tried every kind of doctor and specialist I could find. I've had many tests and alternative treatments and a dizzying array of prescriptions. Nothing worked for long.

Dr. Sarno's method is absolutely amazing. Utilizing his method, which is really just learning about chronic pain, my hives disappeared before my eyes. I had a method of dealing with them, making them go away, before I even finished reading the book with no drugs, no equipment, nothing. It was and is absolutely amazing...totally incredible.

I suppose it is normal to be skeptical of the claims Dr. Sarno makes (and I am corroborating) regarding the power of the mind to heal the body. All I can say is that out of sheer desperation I tried it and it worked for me. It has worked for many others as well, and it just might be the answer you need to your pain/health problem.

An excellent follow-up book is Pain Free for Life by Dr. Brady out of Florida Hospital. (Not that a follow-up is necessary, but it his helpful to help flesh out the ideas that have just been taught.) He gives a six-week program to implement much of what Dr. Sarno teaches and delves into journaling from a psychoanalytic standpoint. I recommend this as a follow-up rather than Dr. Sarno's videos, which are a light treatment of what is contained in the Mindbody Prescription.

I was cured of carpal tunnel, back and knee pain, plantar fascitis, most of my hip pain, etc., etc.

This book works-is very simple

If you are having chronic pain issues that are not the result of an injury or real disease then this is the book for you !

Also read book by Fred Amir

John E. Sarno states that various aches and pains--backaches, headaches, for example--are psychosomatic in origin. Granted. But his method of curing these pains is highly oversimplified. Just get in touch with your unconscious, he states, as though it were as easy as a few weeks' doing. However even after five or ten years on a Freudian couch, many patients can barely do this. One wonders just how an individual on his own can get in touch with his repressed rage, thereby eliminated the physical pain this causes.

There are many ways I can review this book and it's theories. However, it all comes down to one simple understanding. Dr. John Sarno is absolutely correct. It's unbelievable that more people have not discovered this way of healing their individiual ailments.

So much money, time, and energy is wasted on drugs and "other" treatments,(doctors whom insist almost any ailment MUST be treated with drugs or "physical" treatment). Please don't misunderstand my point. If you fall out of a tree and break your leg, then of course you will need the care of a doctor and his prescribed medication. Or, if (God forbid) you aquire cancer or some other form of sickness that requires medical attention, obviously you need the proper attention. My point is that day to day, chronic pain in the body can be cured simply by John Sarno's discovery.

I am not endorsed nor do I have any affiliation with Sarno. I'm a 40 year old man that battled back pain along with awful sciatica for years and years. After trying the standard chiropractic road (and others mind you), my conditions only got worse. And, I was paying a hefty bill to these "doctors". Once more, they would even prescribe or "recommend" some sort of pill that was supposed to "help".

Finally, my wife and I discovered John Sarno and his theories. She (my wife) was battling a bad case of Fibromyalgia and she was only 35 years old. We were both very concerned for her future being she did not want every joint in her body aching the rest of her life (a common symptom of Fibromyagia). She saw numerous "doctors" that gave us the complete runaround and standard line--"Take 2 to 3 Advil a day and that should help. Limit your activities and get lots of rest".

One day, my wife finally said ENOUGH. We both enjoyed exercising and her condition severely limited most activities. She decided to read John Sarno's book. She read it over, and over, and over, and over again (which I highly recommend in order to fully understand). Literally ingraining it into her head. Then, also decided to take Sarno's advice and do the opposite of what the other "doctors" prescribed.

We both began exercising. Sometimes, literally, this was painful. However, and this is the magic part, the pain eventually went away. I'll say it again. THE PAIN EVENTUALLY WENT AWAY. Just as Sarno said it would.

The mind has an unbelievable knack for dictating how we feel physically. Dr. John Sarno has figured out how this occurs and causes the back pain, neck pain, joint pain, headache pain we all are subject to day after day. Every day, life will deal us situations and instances that are the recipe for TMS(Tension Myositis Syndrome). It's how WE DECIDE TO HANDLE IT that is the difference.

If you think I'm crazy, or preaching the "it's all in your mind" philosophy, let me ask you a few questions that we asked ourselves:

-are you pain free with the so called "treatments" you are getting? And if so, how long?
-does your pain return just like that for no reason?
-do you notice a pattern of where and when the pain occurs?
-do you find certain events or instances make your pain worse?
-and finally, if the "treatments" you're currently recieving work, then why does the pain come back?

This book decribes and explaines why we hurt. And, how to get over it--for good! If you are serious, and I mean serious, about curing your ailment, Dr. John Sarno and his books can help.

Good Luck!!!

Nick

quick comment: I bought this book on a whim and it worked. Thank goodness I gave it a try. I'm back to my normal life style after 2 years of pain controlling my every move...

I purchased two copies of this for my sister and my best friend, both of whom have been suffering from a number of painful disorders. Both of them wrote to me very quickly after receiving the book and reported that it makes so much sense that they were excited and relieved to find such great information and ideas that were immediately helpful. I'm buying two or three more copies for other family and friends - it's a small price to pay for such wonderful results! Highly recommend!

Nearly 10 years ago a friend told me about this book. I had upper back pain that I attributed to yoga. There was no definitive moment of injury. I just woke up with this pain in my neck that started radiating down my arm. No structural problem was found through xray. I went to a chiropractor and ran after 1 session (not for me) and then physical therapy. After 2 months (!) the hospital kicked me out of physical therapy (!!) with residual pain that I figured I'd just "deal with". It pretty much faded but every so often I'd have an attack and I'd go get a cortisone shot or accupuncture. Not too bad.

Then in 2004 I got the mother of all pains: a lower back/sciatica pain that settled in and wouldn't leave. Again, MRIs, Xrays, etc. found nothing. I thought it was because of a severe left leg fracture that required 2 surgeries and 1 years total in a cast and crutches. I figured it threw out my alignment. Interestingly though, I developed the pain a few days after I met my biological mother (as an adult) who abandoned me at birth. I recognized the significance but I could not imagine this much pain could be attributed to that. The pain kept on and I was getting worse every minute. I felt like dying because chronic pain is something that we just cannot live with. I got on strong painkillers and finally found 1 that didn't anesthetize me so I could function and feel normal. I also got Raynaud's phenomenon too, never mind bouts of IBS and constipation over the years.

After a couple of years of stability with the pain meds generally blocking the sciatica pain, my upper back/neck pain kicked in with a vengeance this summer. It'd come and go but finally it settled for good. I remembered Dr. Sarno and ran for this book. To be fair, I had my second physical therapy visit 3 days ago. The next day I read the first half of the book and today I finished it. Right now I can move my neck around like normal. Its a little tender but not like the cripple Quasimoto neck I felt I had on Fri., so bad that I was ready to kill someone.

I am a counselor and a therapist, so when I first picked up "Healing Back Pain" I thought I already knew what he was saying so what's the point of reading it. I knew that emotions affected the body. I just didn't think it could possibly be causing as much acute pain, in 1 specific spot, like I was then experiencing. Well, it does. I am a believer now. Like he described, the pain will just keep moving and in a way that cannot be accounted for by a structural problem. How is it that my left side sciatica every now and then moves to the right? Or that my upper typically left side neck pain is on my right? I guess you really have to get to a point where you are willing to believe it (sort of like the surrender process in recovery from substances), or be willing to try to believe it, in order for it to work. I am going to start working on my rage issues some more(yes, there are plenty of reasons for rage in my life, past and present) and see if that will alleviate the sciatica pain I'd written off as hopeless. Actually, speaking of rage, at the age of 10 years old I had these terrible, painful attacks in my liver area. No one could figure out why. At the age of 21, I was finally diagnosed in the ER with gallstones that were on the verge of bursting my gallbladder and so I had to have it removed. Because of my age no one had thought that I could be having gallbladder problems. In Chinese medicine, the liver/gallbladder is the seat of anger. Pretty telling.

One previous reviewer states if you are scientifically minded, this book won't work for you. Well, I am not only scientifically minded, I am a scientist. Actually if you are a scientist and a bit familiar with empirical science and experimental design, it could make more sense because you will be less likely to misread it, and you could also check the medical literature, in particular evidence-based medicine reviews, yourself regarding the effectiveness of various traditional treatment modalities. I am grateful to Dr. Sarno. If you think TMS applies to you, I also recommend books by other authors who wrote about TMS, in particular Dr. Mark Sopher, Fred Amir, and Dr. Nancy Selfridge.

Firstly, like most things in life, this probably won't work for everyone. However, if you read it with an open mind and finish the book, its likely to help you.

Coming from a family of allopathic doctors, I was somewhat sceptical about the theory (TMS) proposed by Dr Sarno which he has termed Tension Myositis Syndrome. However, it is actually completely in line with allopathic medicine, he just believes that the cause of most pain is psychological/psychosomatic rather than simply a physical/structural one.

The crux of his theory is that the mind/brain employs a mechanism to deal with emotional/psychological problems that the sufferer is unable to acknowledge or deal with on a conscious level by initiating a seemingly physical response (normally by reducing the blood flow to a certain physical area) which produces real pain in that area so that the suffer is focused on the physical pain rather than dealing with in many ways much more debilitating psychological/emotional pain.

This relationship between the mind and the body is, Dr Sarno believes, a sort of defense mechanism.

Sarno is clearly a very learned and experienced Dr and has a vast amount of knowledge, not just of allopathic medicine but also psychiatry (Freud) and complementary therapies.

His writing style is very simple and straightforward but very well researched and explained and he gives case studies to back up his claims. For what it's worth his theory and treatment method has been endorsed by several well-known celebrities including Anne Bancroft (RIP) and Howard Stern.

My personal experience was that I was suffering from excrutiating back and shoulder pain which rendered me unable to work using a computer. This made me extremely depressed as it limited me physically and had a big psychological impact. After numerous costly sessions at the osteopath and extensive physiotherapy I was not getting any better. I came across this book online and as a last resort I bought it. After reading the book I started to slowly feel better and now, two years on, my pain has completely gone. I occasionally get the odd twinge but I now know that it is nothing structural and will dissipate and that it is likely a referred emotional worry. As soon as I recognised this consciously and allowed myself to accept the possibility that there was something bothering me that I was unable/unwilling to face, I found the pain subsided.

Firstly, like most things in life, this probably won't work for everyone. However, if you read it with an open mind and finish the book, its likely to help you.

Coming from a family of allopathic doctors, I was somewhat sceptical about the theory (TMS) proposed by Dr Sarno which he has termed Tension Myositis Syndrome. However, it is actually completely in line with allopathic medicine, he just believes that the cause of most pain is psychological/psychosomatic rather than simply a physical/structural one.

The crux of his theory is that the mind/brain employs a mechanism to deal with emotional/psychological problems that the sufferer is unable to acknowledge or deal with on a conscious level by initiating a seemingly physical response (normally by reducing the blood flow to a certain physical area) which produces real pain in that area so that the suffer is focused on the physical pain rather than dealing with in many ways much more debilitating psychological/emotional pain.

This relationship between the mind and the body is, Dr Sarno believes, a sort of defense mechanism.

Sarno is clearly a very learned and experienced Dr and has a vast amount of knowledge, not just of allopathic medicine but also psychiatry (Freud) and complementary therapies.

His writing style is very simple and straightforward but very well researched and explained and he gives case studies to back up his claims. For what it's worth his theory and treatment method has been endorsed by several well-known celebrities including Anne Bancroft (RIP) and Howard Stern.

My personal experience was that I was suffering from excrutiating back and shoulder pain which rendered me unable to work using a computer. This made me extremely depressed as it limited me physically and had a big psychological impact. After numerous costly sessions at the osteopath and extensive physiotherapy I was not getting any better. I came across this book online and as a last resort I bought it. After reading the book I started to slowly feel better and now, two years on, my pain has completely gone. I occasionally get the odd twinge but I now know that it is nothing structural and will dissipate and that it is likely a referred emotional worry. As soon as I recognised this consciously and allowed myself to accept the possibility that there was something bothering me that I was unable/unwilling to face, I found the pain subsided.

If you have too many aches, pains, colds, flu etc., please read John Sarno's "Mind-Body Prescription." It can help you realize how your mind creates so many pains and illnesses by restricting oxygen flow to certain areas of your body. After you read this book, you may find that you don't run to the doctor for every little ailment.

John Sarno is a medical doctor and writes in a scientific manner which may be difficult for some to read. However, this authoritative style of writing is sometimes the best way to speak to people because most will only believe an "authority" on the subject of their health.

Sarno's thesis is that most back pain, as well as various other physical problems, are really manifestations of repressed rage. While there is undoubtedly some truth to this, I think he takes his idea too far. Nearly all symptoms are overdetermined, but he wants to reduce all these syndromes to just one cause. I don't buy it.

Like most reviewers, I have had terrific results after reading Dr. Sarno's books, and I am very thankful that I found them after only 2 months of back pain, unlike many of you who talk of suffering for years.

For the skeptics among you, I recommend searching for the study by Maureen Jensen in the New England Journal of Medicine. This study was cited by Dr. Sarno in an interview. They did MRIs on people WITHOUT back pain, and found that a full 52 percent had bulging disks to some degree.

That being said, I still have questions. There was a previous review by a physical therapist who stressed how important it is to not forget the "body" when thinking about mind-body problems. After all, it IS possible to injure your muscles through overuse, a slip on the ice, or what have you. The physical body is not invincible.

I'm finding it very difficult to know when a pain that develops after a long run or a hike in the mountains is due to my worrying about the possibility of pain (TMS) and when it is an injury---in other words, is it physical or mental?

For example, the other day I went for a 5km run. In the past, before my short adventure with back pain, I often ran 5kms and enjoyed the tired feeling I got in my muscles the following day. This time, I did a long, slow warm-up, walking the first km, stretched for awhile, and ran. It was really hard to let go and just run like I used to without concentrating on the mechanics of my stride, whether my hamstrings felt tight, and the remote possibility that I might "hurt myself", etc. When I got home, I felt some minor shin splints, something that had never happened to me in the past. So I was torn. Should I ice my shins and rest, and treat it as a physical injury, or think about psychological problems and see if the shin pain was just a distraction of my mind? It seems likely to me that my worrying about my stride led me to run in a strange way and tense my shins, leading to a slight physical injury.

To summarize, although I no longer feel pain when just sitting around (and I'm thankful for that!) I'm finding it hard to "let go" and enjoy some of the physical activities that I used to do. Sports medicine doctors will tell you that, if you feel pain, you should stop whatever you're doing in order to avoid further injury. How nice it would be to have those little devices on Star Trek that scan the body and tell you what's wrong--red light means physical, green light means mental...

I highly recommend this book. It is an absolute must-read to cure all types of pain and muscle ailments.

I wouldn't be surprised it Dr. Srano's work leads to cures for other problems, not (yet) listed in his books. I suffered a sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL), and while I would recommend others who experience such a serious condition to follow *all* their doctors instructions (e.g. taking major doses of steroids, etc.), applying Dr. Sarno's technique seemed to help a great deal. Additionally, Dr. Sarno does mention in his earlier back pain book that steroids do seem to help, although he does not know why.

Medical science still has a lot to learn, and we should all be open minded (both doctors and patients) and very thankful to Dr. Sarno for showing us new solutions and possibilities to what can be difficult and serious medical conditions.

This book covers many fascinating mind/body phenomena, and you can easily apply the findings to your own ailments. I chased off some stomach problems by following the procedures/methods described in the book. I have a step mother that dispelled brutal back pain this way, too.

This book covers many fascinating mind/body phenomena, and you can easily apply the findings to your own ailments. I chased off some stomach problems by following the procedures/methods described in the book. I have a step mother that dispelled brutal back pain this way, too.

I've suffered with chronic lower back pain for 30+ years, involving literally hundreds of medical and chiropractic doctor sessions. An accuputure specialist I consulted recommended this book. Within 3 weeks of reading it the back pain is gone.

I was highly skeptical until I was out of options. After every type of doctor failed, I was told of this book and it "saved" my life. I was unable to live normally, I couldn't be the active, fun parent I wanted to be and was in constant pain and misery. I read both Sarno books cover to cover and in ten weeks was pain-free. If you have an open mind to the theories in the book it's almost like magic.

I've suffered with chronic lower back pain for 30+ years, involving literally hundreds of medical and chiropractic doctor sessions. An accuputure specialist I consulted recommended this book. Within 3 weeks of reading it the back pain is gone.

Book was effective. The discussions helped to release stress that had a positive impact on back pain.
If reading this, consider Sarno's other books.

I was highly skeptical until I was out of options. After every type of doctor failed, I was told of this book and it "saved" my life. I was unable to live normally, I couldn't be the active, fun parent I wanted to be and was in constant pain and misery. I read both Sarno books cover to cover and in ten weeks was pain-free. If you have an open mind to the theories in the book it's almost like magic.

This book described the cause of my pain and muscle dysfunction. No doctors that I visited could figure it out. But Sarno has identified a very specific syndrome that many people have, and it is not theoretical...he has done a very good job of documenting his success with a specific theraputic process. It's both easy and hard to do...it's hard to grasp the fact that a brain process could cause so much pain and muscle spasm, easy because once you follow the therapy, you realize how simple it is to reverse the process.

Here's how it was for me:I was at the end of my rope. I had been to orthopedic surgeons, rehab doctors, chiropractors, accupuncturists and many physical therapists. I had constant pain with intermittent bouts of severe back spasms. After a couple of years I had to quit work because I was in so much pain. I spent most of the day lying down. Oh, and I was on three kinds of medicine. This was about 4 years into this problem that never seemed to get better, yet no doctor could find a real cause (except things like disc compression).

I ran into Sarno's prior book, Healing Back Pain. Within about 3 days of reading the book, my pain started to subside. In 3 weeks the pain was about 50% and in 2 months it was gone. The book describes a series of steps you need to take to get rid of the pain and muscle spasms. It is basically a cognative therapy process in which you focus on specific stresses.

It was scary to get back into activities after being fearful of lifting, sitting, twisting, bending, etc. Now I ski, play basketball, golf, tennis, and have zero pain. Sarno describes how he came about his theraputic process. It sounds like black magic. But I am an engineer that believes in science, and Sarno did his homework. I want other people to get rid of their pain, too.

Of course not all back pain fits this model, but it seems like much of mid-life back pain could be caused by this specific syndrome. Sarno describes particular personality types that are apt to have this, and also says that people with allergies and irritable bowel are likely candidates.

Many people will read the book and not get it. You have to really get into to it and dedicate yourself to the process. You've got nothing to lose except the pain.

I saw Dr. Sarno ten years ago for back pain . Within the first week after seeing him I was cured. I've never had any back pain again. I couldn't walk my pain was so bad, I was hunched over. I had to stay home and lie on the floor for days.

My days of sleeping on a hard floor or crawling to the bathroom are gone since I became Dr. Sarno's patient. Mindbody Prescription: Healing the Body, Healing the Pain which is an excellent title since I now have knee pain and sometimes the pain goes to my groin and hip.

This title made me aware that ten years later Dr. Sarno is now treating all areas of the body, and the mind and the body work together was always my way of thinking. I'm fortunate to have found Dr. Sarno.

I have not even finished reading this book yet, and already, I am feeling a lot less pain. I am a 27-year-old woman. I have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, abdominal wall pain, and irritable bowel syndrome. I have been through physical therapy, special diets, and a chronic pain clinic, not to mention a boatload of painkillers.

I never thought I would get better. The pain has been a part of my life since age 19, and since then, I've had to accept more and more limitations.

Now, I am finally shedding those limitations. My mother saw Dr. Sarno a few weeks ago, and when she came home, she told me about his work. I was very interested, so I began reading this book.

There was no big miracle, and I am not trying to lead anyone to believe that reading this will instantly "cure" them. However, as I read, I noticed that the pain was dissipating slightly. I began to think more about what could be causing rage in my unconscious mind, as Sarno suggested; and I wrote about some of it, which really helped. I have continued this process of reading, thinking, and writing; and my pain has lessened significantly.

The emotional pain has been difficult to bear. It is easy to tell why the unconscious mind would want to keep these things hidden under a veneer of more "socially acceptable" physical pain.

Ultimately, though, facing these emotions will become easier, and I will be free to have a life again. I can go back to work, and maybe eventually work full time. And I have hope again. I want to eventually get back into kickboxing, and do all sorts of things that I thought I would either never get a chance to do, or never do again.

I highly, highly recommend this book to all people suffering from chronic pain who are willing to consider the premise that the pain is being caused by the mind. (This does not mean it is "all in your head"--this means that the pain is VERY real, but its cause is something that cannot be treated by traditional medicine.) It is well worth reading, for anyone who is willing to at least try to believe it.

This works! Do not simply disregard the theories because they are radically different from other approaches and ideas behind chronic pain used by practioneers the world over. If you are open-minded enough to just embrace the idea and remain persistent, you will be pleasantly surprised! The fact is had I RSI FOR two years, but before ever reading sarno the following things did not make sense to me:

1) I had the type of RSI where there is no pathology behind it. There was and is absolutely no evidence of structural damage anywhere in my arms, to the extent that my Doctor almost implied that I was wasting his time! It made no sense to me that such great pain could be caused my no damage or weakness of muscle fibres in my arms whatsoever. Dr. Sarno's theory can explain effectively why this is.

2) I did understand why both my arms went out in sympathy. I played guitar, where both hands are doing something different. Why should the pain be exactly equal?

3) People often told me I wasn't as physically strong as other people as a reason for being more affected by RSI. But in experience, the weight, height, build and to an extent general physical health had no correlation between those who got affected. Tellingly, I was perplexed that people who had a certain type of personality appeared to be more susceptible to RSI.

4) I did not understand how sleep greatly increased my pain in my arms, whilst for other RSI sufferers with no pathology behind it, evening before they went to bed were the worst.

All these distinctions were made without prior knowledge to Dr. Sarno's theories. When I discovered his books, everthing fitted into place.

I am a writer/editor who endured seven years of carpel tunnel-like symptoms: tingling, pain, weakness, and numbness from both wrists all the way up to my neck. I underwent every possible treatment, mainstream and alternative, but nothing worked. One day, someone who had similar pain told me how she was cured by this book. I didn't believe her, but I was desperate: at the time I was taking the highest dosage of my painkillers, and had just quit my job because the pain was crippling. After two months of reading Dr. Sarno's book nonstop and learning how the pain was psychosomatic--which has a bad rap for being fake; it's real pain that is initiated from the brain--I was off of my meds and almost pain-free. Within four months I was pain-free. It's been one and half years and I'm still pain-free!!!!

Dr Sarno has tapped into something extremely important. I know the principles he describes in this book and his other works are dead on. As a reminded to myself, I typed up a bunch of key principles from the book that I read to remind myself how my body reacts to these unconscious feelings. Here's my list. Hope it helps.

To be whole - once again!

*TMS is a defense, an avoidance strategy designed to turn attention away from frightening repressed feelings.
*TMS is a painful but harmless change of state of muscles. The level of autonomic nervous system activity is crucial in the TMS pain process.
*...emotional factors were setting off a reaction the body that resulted in pain.
*...real recovery depends on recognizing the nature of the process.
*The symptoms are a physical rather than emotional expression of anxiety and that people who were hardworking, conscientious, responsible, compulsive and perfectionistic were prone to TMS.
*...definitive treatment has to be directed at the brain.
*Awareness, insight, knowledge, and information were the magic medicines that would cure this disorder--and nothing else could do it.
*...unconscious emotional phenomena necessitated physical symptoms.
*The purpose of a defense mechanism (in this case physical symptoms) is to divert people's attention to the body, so that they can avoid the awareness of or confrontation with certain unconscious (repressed) feelings.
*Brain's strategy - is to keep your attention firmly fixed on your body and unaware of the threatening feelings in your unconscious. Role of pain is to divert attention from frightening feelings. The brain will not give up the distraction unless it is forced to.
*The brain tries desperately to divert our attention from rage in the unconscious.

*...we can influence unconscious automatic reactions by the application of conscious thought processes.
*The treatment for TMS and its equivalents is to think your way out of it.
*It is essential to focus on unpleasant threatening thoughts and feeling to deny the pain its purpose - to divert your attention from those feelings.
*...regard the process as a contest in which your logical conscious will is pitted against the irrational unconscious.
*Talk to the brain ... the more forcefully the better.
*You tell your mind that you know what it's doing, that you know the physical pain is harmless and is a distraction from the repressed rage, and that you no longer intend to be diverted and intimidated.
*You must bide your time, try and try again, and stay secure in the knowledge that you will prevail in the end. Be patient - but persistent.
*Focus on the unconscious rage, imagining and visualizing it, and thinking about al the pressures that produced it.
*This technique only works for people who make a strong effort to apply it.
*...knowledge, not change, produces a cure - this requires repetition in the learning process.
*When patients learn that they can actually take control to rid themselves of this terrible scourge, the sense of power must be intoxicating.
*...fear is better than pain as a distractor. We must prove to our brains that we know what is going on, that we are not misled and, above all, that we are not intimidated or afraid.
*We are stronger than we know and have the capacity to influence what is going on in our bodies.

*The approach that works best is to make a daily, concerted effort.
*...this requires a period of self-examination and "re-programming" of the vicious cycle of worry, fear, anger, and pain.
*I have found that keeping a daily journal can be an important component of the education, introspection, and self-awareness required to heal the disorder.
*TMS and its equivalents serve as a distraction from unpleasant emotions including anger, fear, and unresolved grief.
*Set aside between 15 and 40 min a day.
*Crucial to success is for the user to notice their feelings and record and try to understand them. Try not to censor them, be explicit and allow them to flow. Sit with your feelings, attempt to reflect and probe deeper. This is not easy for most of us to do.
*It takes time for emotional connections to catch up with our more rapid intellectual understanding.

In forthright prose, Dr. John Sarno provides a roadmap for combatting the pain epidemic gripping much of modern society. According to Dr. Sarno, anger generated in infancy and childhood, the drive for perfectionism and goodism, and life pressures, generate unconscious rage in virtually all people. These factors combine to produce mild oxygen deprivation in tiny arterioles throughout the body, resulting in excruciating musculoskeletal pain.

Dr. Sarno has treated over 10,000 patients over 25 years. Using abundant evidence from his practice and numerous published reports, Dr. Sarno cogently argues that the overwhelming majority of back pain and other mindbody disorders, such as headaches, and gastrointestinal symptoms, follow his model. Sarno explains that awareness of the psychological cause of the symptoms, and focusing on particular elements in one's life that generate unconscious rage, can usually banish symptoms. Some people have become pain free by simply reading this book, but often it requires several months and a thorough analysis of stressful life events to effect a "cure." Dr. Sarno puts the word "cure" in quotes because there is really no disease involved, and, therefore, nothing to cure. The musculoskeletal disorders, primarily back pain, are referred to as the tension myositis syndrome or TMS. Harmless alteration in circulatory physiology producing TMS symptoms is reversed by awareness and insight, a triumph of mind over body.

I went to a chiropractor for about 18 months with mixed results but became pain free after a few months of multiple readings of Dr. Sarno's book, and by diligently performing the self-examination exercises therein.

As suggested above, Dr. Sarno's model applies to a host of illnesses. All humans in modern society are subject to pressures that give rise to unconscious rage. Dr. Sarno notes that there is also evidence, though by no means conclusive, that serious disease, such as arteriosclerosis and cancer, may have mindbody components.

The Mindbody Prescription is a must-read for anyone suffering from lingering back pain or musculoskeletal pain after serious disease has been ruled out by a knowledgeable physician.

About 6 years ago I was diagnosed with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. I am a secretary in a law firm. I was sent for physical therapy, and the pain did not really subside; it relocated to my upper back, neck and shoulders; thus, I was then diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I contined with physical therapy. Someone at work gave me the Mind Body Prescription and as I live in New York, I made an appointment with Dr. Sarno. He confirmed that I was indeed suffering from mind-body disorders, and on my own, I was able to figure out what I was unconsciously repressing that was causing my pain. My pain ceased immediately. However, a few years later I developed awful allergies and sinus pain. I had read a brief passage in Dr. Sarno's book and contacted him to be sure that the allergies were indeed a manifestation of the TMS syndrome he described in the book; he confirmed that they were and suggested that at that point I see a psychologist to help me express repressed emotions from the past. I went to therapy for approximately 2 months; that was 2 years ago. And I can say with the utmost sincerity that I haven't taken an allergy pill since then. The work of Dr. Sarno is genius. I am living proof that an accumulation of repressed emotions can and will cause physical ailments, and that those ailments are completely curable by using the knowledge Dr. Sarno has put into writing. I am forever grateful to him because I didn't want to live a life dependent on medicine, and thanks to his brilliant work, I am pain and medicine free. If you have any of the ailments that fall under TMS or it's equivalents (such as gastrointestinal disorders, allergies) this book is a must so long as you are looking for a drug-free cure.

Dr. Sarno shares his wealth of experience of successfully treating people with back pain. However, he is careful to recommend getting a thorough diagnosis first to catch any problems that are not TMS. Unfortunately for many people, believing back pain is all mental does not work. For all of them I suggest reading "Can We Live 150 Year?"

I found this to be exciting reading. Its premise is that much of the pain we suffer is the externalization of unresolved emotions. This may seem simplistic, but as an MD I'm interested in new approaches which can help me help others. I have seen a pattern developing among quite a few of my patients in which what goes on in their bodies mirrors, with a predictable time lag, what has been going on in their lives.
I have seen it often enough to make me take notice when I came across this book. This is important reading for everyone who want to get a handle on chronic pain. I have had lower back pain for many years and this book helped me to gain much insight into my own condition. I would also recommend the DVD Kundalini Yoga for Beginners & Beyond. Between this book and that DVD, my lower back pain is totally gone.

This book presents a compelling and well-written argument for the connection of pain and the mind, and how the mind can be used to eliminate pain. Must-read material for anyone with chronic pain.

One of my friends, who runs regularly, was recently diagnosed with a torn meniscus in his right knee. Orthopedic surgeon had recommended surgery. He had attended one of my seminars on rapid recovery from chronic pain and asked for my opinion.

I told him that I will check Dr. Sarno's The Mindbody Prescription and get back to him. And indeed one of the many conditions for which patients are needlessly operated on is a torn meniscus. He decided not to have surgery and is doing great.

This is indeed a valuable reference to have available in order to check the many conditions that are misdiagnosed and avoid unnecessary tests and procedures. Dr. Sarno does give a more detailed explanation of the psychology of TMS, which maybe too detailed for some readers; however, I believe that's useful too for better understanding of the mindbody connection.

Dr. Sarno shares his wealth of experience of successfully treating people with back pain. However, he is careful to recommend getting a thorough diagnosis first to catch any problems that are not TMS. Unfortunately for many people, believing back pain is all mental does not work. For all of them I suggest reading "Can We Live 150 Year?"

I thought I had permanently damaged both my arms from too much typing, guitar playing, and lifting 30-pound dumbells. I could not write, type, or lift anything heavier than 2 pounds without severe, burning pain in my forearms.
I saw 6 doctors and 7 therapists over 8 months. No massage, splint, acupressure, anti-inflammatory drug, exercise, or stretch could help. I was resting my arms and getting WORSE PAIN.
Then I read this book and I was better the next day, literally. Other people take longer, but I had no problem accepting the premise of Sarno's medical argument. This book is medically solid. The guy teaches at NYU medical school. He is not a quack.
Check it out from the library and read it for yourself. It has "the cure" for a wide variety of chronic medical issues, not just backs.

I previously had on-and-off lower back pain (sometimes severe) for the last 10 years. It became increasingly worse, particularly after heavy lifting at the gym (leg squat, etc). About 4 months ago, I went to the doctor and had an MRI, which apparently indicated a disc herniation, for which I was prescribed medication and physical therapy. The doctor basically told me to stop any of the heavy lifting that was provoking the pain. Around the same time, I read this book and have experienced almost no back pain since (I never took any prescribed medications or physical therapy sessions). After years of friends and family telling me to go see a doctor (or "It could be serious!"), it is actually refreshing to hear that we are not as frail as western medical treatment has lead us to believe. Fortunately, this isn't the ra-ra mind over matter book that you might anticipate. The author convincingly explains the emotional causes of chronic pain, which goes against the grain of the conventional western treatments such as medications, surgery, or physical therapy. Although the primary focus seems to be on back pain (because that is what is currently "in vogue"), I would recommend this book to those suffering through any type of chronic pain.

Dr. Sarno's vast knowledge has been clearly expressed in this complete, yet concise, book. The effect of negative emotional states on the physical body is convincingly explained. Much of Dr. Sarno's information has influenced my work.
Brian E. Walsh, PhD, Author, Unleashing Your Brilliance

Everyone who has a body should read this book! Read it and spread the word. A+++.

After 20 years of severe sciatica, following Sarno's program 100% and reading the TMS Help message forum on the internet daily has resulted in roughly an 85% reduction in leg and buttocks pain over the last year. That's after I wasted so many years on chiropractic, accupuncture, back exercises, avoiding certain physical movements, PT, deep muscle massage, cortisone injections, and 4 horrible and useless back surgeries.

I'm a physical therapist with 20 years experience in treating patients with low back pain, neck pain, and other various pain problems and if everybody would accept this information I would be looking for a job. After five years of chronic low back pain, I was completely painfree in two week after accepting my back pain was due to repressed emotions and not some type of structural problem. And yes by the way I do try to tell my patients now about the process but most will not accept it.
I know at first the whole process sounds like a bunch of bull, but let me tell you there is a huge body of scientific research linking stress to back pain. Just think for a minute about all the great strides of modern medicine and then think how bad that same modern medicine is at curing back pain. That's because doctors and therapists are focused on the wrong problem. Doctors and therapists blame various structural problems when the real culprit is stress, pressure, and repressed emotions. Your back does not hurt because you are weak, inflexible, or malaligned it hurts because life is full of stress and pressure. I know because I lived it too.
Dr. Sarno does a great job of explaining all this and makes a strong argument against traditional treatments. He explains how acceptance is critical not by blind faith but by knowledge and logic. He is truly one of the great thinkers of our time.
I highly recommend this book to all those suffering from chronic pain. Dr. Sarno really did give me my life back.