Back Chat: The Ultimate Guide to Healing and Preventing Back Pain

"After 15 years of severe lower back pain, and inadequete advice from doctors and ineffective physiotherapy, I found how to cure the problem myself by following the exercises described in this book. I previously thought the back was untouchable and if it goes wrong it is very difficult to cure, but its simply not the case. It CAN be cured and this book shows how. I was bed-ridden for two or three weeks many times, just waiting on the problem to go away, but now I know exactly what to do, and it works very well. Without this book I'd still be a prisoner of my back problem, but now I have no worries. Every family doctor should read this book, they are simply not giving the right advice, and I know this from my own experience. This book deserves 10 out of 5, not 5 out of 5.



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~ Written on 2008-05-06

"What an attractively presented, accessible but learned little 190-pager.
Forget for the moment that Garry is a therapist to the glitterati of world entertainment - this book is a stand-alone gem.

Garry chats about our back as if it's a friend of his - and should be a friend of ours. Its admirable strengths, its complexities, its foibles, but above all, its willingness to respond to sensitive therapy and sensible maintenance - all are covered off in an easy style that belies what is clearly a profound understanding of how the back works.

Generally we don't look after the ol' crane until one day, whammo! our life-supporter is calling Time Out; we tilt it awkwardly on high heels, we slouch it over computers, we twist and wrench it around in sport. These, and dozens of other common scenarios, Back Chat projects us into through copy that combines aesthetic illustration with succinct text.

The book's diversity of case studies and recommended treatments, ranging from 11 year old gymnasts to the very elderly, shows a genuine lack of bias in treatments complementary to the author's own specialist fields of osteopathy and acupuncture. His thoughts on the effectiveness of prescription drugs, herbs, chiropractics, aromatherapy, reflexology etc are expressed respectfully and positively, providing clear guidance but deference to the individual's preferences.

The book really is like a 'chat', to some extent because a deal of it is made up of friendly responses to actual clients' accounts of their ailments.
Tania Alexander however, has cleverly infused the entire text with this conversational approach and makes understanding of all the back-related issues mentioned (sex, gardening, driving, sport, office ergonomics. etc) a completely pain-free experience.

Anyway, I've got a bad lower back and recently slipped a disc. With the passing years things can only get worse unless I stop cursing my spine as if it's *its* fault and change my attitude. A small thing can be an important catalyst and for me, that's what this book was.

Good on you Garry and Tania. You really got my attention - and for less than ten quid it's the best-value consultation I've had."
~ Written on 2007-04-27