Dr. Joseph Weisberg, P.T., Ph.D., runs a private practice for treating chronic pain -- back pain, headaches, joint stiffness, or arthritis. Contrary to the natural inclination to think that joint pain is from the joint itself, in the vast majority of cases, it is from strain induced in the soft tissue: the ligaments and tendons in the joints.
Acute pain is usually relatively short-lived and the result of trauma, while chronic pain is recurring pain that is the result of the accumulation of the stresses brought on by micro trauma. Dr. Weisberg provides checklists to help you distinguish acute pain from chronic pain. For acute pain you should contact a medical practitioner; don't attempt to resolve acute pain issues on your own.
When you compare chronic pain to more stealthy medical conditions such as coronary artery disease or cancer, you realize that chronic pain has an up-side: it makes you aware that something is wrong. Unfortunately, we generally believe that we need to "baby" the body part that is the source of the pain -- which is advisable for acute pain -- but for chronic pain, that's exactly the wrong approach! Movement is needed to treat chronic pain, but it requires the correct movements to effect healing over time.
Chronic pain is largely the result of bio mechanical dysfunction from tight, stiff or short muscles, weak and imbalanced musculature, lack of lubrication in the joints, misalignment of joints, and/or poor posture. These dysfunctions cause stress on the body mechanics that cause the body to get out of balance, resulting in the continual micro traumas that eventually lead to chronic pain.
Possibly the biggest cause of chronic pain, much to my surprise is the chair! Chapter Two, cleverly titled "The Chair is the Seat of all Evil" explains the history and bio mechanical problems caused by the chair, ergonomic or not! Exposed is the myth that our evolution from quadrupedal to bipedal is the cause of back pain, Dr. Weisberg explains the marvel of the back's S-curve and what an amazing engineering design it is, resisting both gravity and shock that might otherwise damage it. Prolonged sitting has the effect of working counter to the design of our entire musculoskeletal system. [Hint: get up and walk around at least once every hour.] Conversely, moving, standing and squatting are naturally beneficial to the system, relieving tension and lubricating the joints. Although devised several thousand years ago, the chair did not come into common usage until the last 150 years -- not enough time for the evolutionary changes needed for the body to adapt to it. The archaeological evidence is presented that supports this premise!
3 Minutes to a Pain Free Life consists of three parts, each section with a hundred pages of information. The first part is an anatomy lesson in how the body is designed to work, while parts two and three provide exercises along with how, why, and when to perform them. I've been exposed to many exercise programs in the past, but was left without a firm knowledge of why they were important, and without immediate results, tended to stop performing them at some point. Dr. Weisberg's in depth explanations of the importance of this program to your overall well-being provides the science behind the program that helps you to persevere.
The main program consists of six exercises that are performed for 30 seconds each and done at least once a day. The exercises are designed to stretch, lengthen and strengthen the muscles that otherwise get out of alignment and cause the microtraumas that are the source of the pain. Rather than "No pain no gain", the catch phrase is "Work to the pain, not through the pain," allowing the muscles to relax and return to their normal length. Stretching for more than a few seconds is required because the muscles resist this stretching in the same way that they continuously stress to produce the chronic condition. The key to the physiology of overcoming this reaction is that the muscles cannot maintain that tension in a stretched state for more than a few seconds, so the 30 second exercises teach them to relax and return to a normal state.
I have several sources of chronic pain: my knees, back, and right shoulder. I have a bone condition in my right knee (osteochondritis dessicans) which has had open and microsurgery performed over the past forty years. I tore an ACL and MCL ligament (one in each knee) and have osteoarthritis in both knees. These accumulated conditions can made walking difficult, especially on stairs, and prevent me from running anymore. But as it turns out, my knee pain was the result of two factors: the unavoidable mechanical problems in the knees (only correctable through knee replacement) and the chronic soft-tissue micro traumas. I noticed immediate improvements through the 3-minute exercises in a few days and continuous improvements over several months. I am far from pain-free (due to the mechanical problems) but have resumed normal functioning. I'd like to say my tennis game is great now, but let's be reasonable, this is not a miracle program!
I rarely have back episodes anymore, the one exception being long automobile rides in my BMW M3 -- not the most ergonomic experience. The right shoulder pain due to improper weight-lifting in my younger days and exacerbated by my tennis serve has largely subsided -- enough to allow sleeping on that side at night. Overall, I have to enthusiastically endorse The Weisberg Way and the overall improvement in quality of life that it has provided. It's available on Amazon for under $15. If you try the program, please post your experience here to benefit others!
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