8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back - 2nd Edition by Esther Gokhale (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Esther Gokhale's global bestseller turns back pain treatment on its head.

Many of us are told it's normal to have back pain. That disc degeneration is inevitable after 50. That arthritic changes are par for the course.
But what if back pain isn't inevitable? What if it's simply a result of being disconnected from how we are meant to use our bodies?

Dedicated to the millions of people who suffer unnecessarily from back pain, this updated edition of Esther Gokhale's classic bestseller reveals a surprising truth: our bodies are designed to function pain-free for close to a century--we're just not using them correctly.

8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back shows you how we got off track, and gives you a clear, practical roadmap to get back on. You won't find gimmicks, gadgets, or time-consuming exercises--just tweaks to your everyday movement habits.

Learn how to work at your desk, make a cup of coffee, walk the dog--even change the bed sheets--in ways that protect and strengthen your body instead of wearing and tearing it. When you respect your body's natural blueprint, every motion can become healing.

A blend of modern medical insight and ancient body wisdom, the Gokhale Method(R) isn't a temporary fix--it's a return to the way your body is designed to move.

• Used by physicians, athletes, and hundreds of thousands of everyday people to solve pain without surgery, special equipment, or ongoing appointments
• Updated with new images, case studies, and evidence-based refinements
• A method so in tune with the way your body wants to move, you'll start feeling better from chapter one

If you've tried everything--and nothing's worked--it's time to stop chasing symptoms and start addressing the root cause.

Get ready to move the way you are meant to--gracefully, easefully, and pain free.

"Every year tens of thousands of patients undergo major back surgery without any benefits. By using Gokhale's novel techniques, many of these patients can avoid such needless and expensive medical procedures, and quickly return to a pain-free life."

-John R. Adler, M.D., Professor Emeritus of Neurosurgery, Stanford University Medical Clinic, California

"I had nearly daily pain for 14 years. Sleeping was excruciating and I slept upright. Nothing I tried worked. I thought I would have to quit my job. The Gokhale Method has given my health back to me. I feel incredibly empowered because this is something I can do for myself every single day. I sleep soundly now lying completely down for almost the entire night.I am able to exercise more than ever. I am not missing any work. This is a new phase of my life!"

- Leslie Lawrence, California

"Before Gokhale, I could barely walk a few blocks in my neighborhood for exercise, having to stop several times due to back pain. Now I can walk an hour without any pain. I couldn't bend before without having to lie down afterwards and now my favorite thing is to bend and I have no pain. I used to wear a back brace most of the time and I have now put it away in my closet with no need for it."

- Laura Weinberg, Iowa

"During the past few weeks there have been moments when it feels like I'm moving in harmony rather than at odds with the world. Thank you, Esther, for figuring out and breaking down into a rudimentary, building-block-level how to get from pain to hope."

- Deanne Bell, United Kingdom

This updated second edition includes:

• 600 new and updated images
• New and refined techniques, including a fully revamped walking chapter
• QR codes linking to videos of key techniques
• Guidance on using tech without compromising your spine

Esther Gokhale trained in science at Harvard and Princeton. The New York Timeshas dubbed Gokhale "The Posture Guru of Silicon Valley". She has taught the Gokhale Method at Google, Facebook, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, UCSF, TEDx(Stanford), and consulted for major sports teams. The Gokhale Method is currently the subject of a Stanford clinical trial for back pain treatment.

Review Quotes

"Esther Gokhale's vision of what makes a healthy back will be startling to most Americans, because it is so different from what we have always learned...With the adoption of even a few of Esther's precepts, a life of bad habits can change to a life of healthy sitting and moving, and therefore a life of less pain and more freedom."
- Jessica Davidson, M.D., Internal Medicine, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, CA

"The fresh and thoughtful approach to preventing and treating back pain presented by Esther Gokhale in this book deserves the attention of the medical profession. We have not served our patients with back pain well, and the techniques so well-described in this book hold the promise of significant relief to a very common and distressing problem."
- Harvey J. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA

"Esther Gokhale's unique expertise and the keen clinical acumen that fuel her work, displayed in
her amazing, comprehensive and user-friendly book, will eventually be recognized by the medical community as the greatest-ever contribution to nonsurgical back treatment in this country."
- Helen Barkan, M.D., Ph.D., Neurology, Mayo Clinic, MN

"[Esther Gokhale] advocates exercises that are easily practiced during one's normal daily activities (e.g. stretches that can be done while walking, sitting in a chair, driving or while lying in bed). All of the exercises are gentle and are appropriate for patients of all ages and strengths."
- Teresa Nauenberg, M.D., Palo Alto Medical Foundation, CA

"The most lucid account I have read of how the human spine works."
- J.M. Coetzee, Nobel Prize Winner in Literature

"The patients I have referred to Esther have, without exception, found her work to be life changing."
- Salwan AbiEzzi, M.D., Palo Alto Medical Foundation

"Esther Gokhale's technique is totally unique and her research really backs it up. This is a great tool for all of us."
- Billie Jean King, Winner of 20 Wimbledon titles

"The Gokhale Method opens up a new level of health even to those of us who spend most of our week at a desk."
- Susan Wojcicki, Former CEO of YouTube

"The Gokhale Method turns much of conventional wisdom about pain and posture on its head.
I now look forward to many years of a healthy neck and back."
- Joan Baez, Singer and Activist

"Esther Gokhale helped me resolve a five-year injury after nothing else had worked."
- Patti Sue Plumer, Olympian

"Gokhale's theory...seems almost too simple, but there is logic (and science) behind the fact that if the musculature is at rest, instead of being in a constant state of tension, discomfort can be avoided. Her book serves as a self-help manual that provides us a means to reclaim an active lifestyle without pain."
- Mary Martin, Fitness Coordinator, NC

"As a scientist, I find Esther's approach to be very well thought out, based in extensive experience, integrated with the rest of one's life, and extremely effective."
- Gretchen Daily, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, Stanford University, CA

"You are never too old to benefit from Esther Gokhale's artful, sound guide to better posture and
freedom from pain."
- Victor R. Fuchs, Ph.D., Henry J. Kaiser Jr. Professor Emeritus of Economics and
of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University, CA

About the Author

Esther Gokhale (GO-clay) has been involved in integrative therapies all her life. As a young girl growing up in India, she helped her mother, a nurse, treat abandoned babies waiting to be adopted. This early interest in healing led her to study biochemistry at Harvard and Princeton Universities and, later, acupuncture at the San Francisco School of Oriental Medicine. After crippling back pain during her first pregnancy and unsuccessful back surgery, her studies at the Aplomb(R) Institute in Paris and years of research in Brazil, India, Portugal, and elsewhere led her to develop the Gokhale Method. Her lifelong mission is to make back pain rare again. Visit Esther at www.gokhalemethod.com