Conquering back pain

In my family it has become known simply as "the book."  My wife and two adult children have read it.  I have recommended it to countless friends.  And I generally read it myself at least two or three times each year.  "The book" is Healing Back Pain by Dr. John Sarno, a highly regarded physician who has dedicated himself to identifying the link between physical symptoms and the innermost workings of our subconscious minds.
   Let me begin with a true story.  About 14 years ago I was suffering from crippling pain after my back "went out" one morning.  I could barely walk, and the pain ranged from intense to unbearable.  This wasn't the first time I had suffered severe back pain, but this was by far the worst episode.  A colleague at work suggested that I read something that had changed his life, and he gave me his copy of Dr. Sarno's Healing Back Pain.  That day I had to fly to Florida for a business convention, and I read the book from cover to cover while on the plane.  It's a slender book and an easy read -- but it worked a small miracle in my life.
   I hobbled onto the plane in the morning, and that afternoon in Florida I walked off as though I had never had back pain at all.  If this sounds impossible to you, I understand, because it doesn't sound possible to me either.  But it's true, because I lived the experience.
   Here's my very short summary of Dr. Sarno's explanation for what causes most incidents of lower-back pain: our subconscious minds deliberately produce physical symptoms in order to keep us from examining specific elements of anxiety or anger in our lives.  It's the brain's way of saying, "Don't go there."  And by throwing some pain at us, the subconscious mind gets us focusing on something that completely draws us away from the underlying psychological issue that needs addressing.
   This is a layman's very brief overview of a book that is written in plain English and may work a miracle in your life if you're suffering from lower-back pain, shoulder pain, heart palpitations, and a host of other problems related to the phenomenon that Dr. Sarno describes in his book.
   So why am I writing about Healing Back Pain today?  Ah, good question.  Well, this past Friday morning my back "went out" while I was training at the gym.  And the timing could not have been worse, since I was set to compete in a tournament the following day.  I'm sure that many of my readers understand how it feels to have all those months of preparation go down the drain the day before a tournament because of some dumb injury.
   But this story has a happy ending, thanks to Dr. Sarno.  I went home and read "the book."  One of the points that Dr. Sarno makes is that IF your back is structurally sound -- and doctors have found that mine certainly is -- then the pain is caused not by injury but by the actions of your subconscious mind.  And the best -- actually the ONLY -- was to overcome the pain is to accept that it's a fraud.  Rather than tiptoe around the pain, take it for what it is: a phony roadblock that your brain has set in your path.  Long story made short: after reading Dr. Sarno's book yet again, I was able to compete the next day, high kicks and all.
   Fifteen years ago this would not have been possible.  Back then I would have seen a doctor, who would have prescribed pain killers, physical therapy, and rest.  The doctor might also have said, "Oh, and stay away from that activity, because your back can't take it."  Thanks to Dr. Sarno, I now know that the enemy is psychological, not physical, and that there's no reason to baby my back.
   I'm 66, and perhaps one of these days I'll have an actual physical ailment that prevents me from practicing the Taekwondo that I love so much.  But I'm not there yet, and chances are you aren't either.  If you're sitting on the sidelines because of back pain, neck pain, shoulder pain, or any other "problem" that's making life less fun than it should be, please do yourself a great favor.  Buy a paperback copy of Healing Back Pain.  Here's hoping the book works a miracle in your life . . . as it has in mine.
  All the best to you.