Any opinions

I am thinking about buying this book called "8 Steps to a Pain-free Back". Out of 150 reviews 141 were 5 out of 5 stars. It is about using correct and natural posture during everyday tasks, but it seems to place on emphasis on developing an anterior tilted pelvis. From what I have read so far, the general consensus is that anterior pelvis tilt is bad. Would you buy the book? I would appreciate any thoughts or opinions. Here's a link to a preview of the book. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/097930 ... 0979303605

Thanks in advance,

Kyle

I'm not an expert but I'd rather buy one of Pete Egoscue's books when it comes to postural dysfunction/realignment.

www.egoscue.com

biomieg said:

I'm not an expert but I'd rather buy one of Pete Egoscue's books when it comes to postural dysfunction/realignment.

http://www.egoscue.com

I was looking at "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back" because it seems as though is about reteaching you the proper way to walk, bend, squat, reach, etc. I feel that this book may be more useful because it is teaching you the proper way to use your body and prevent body misalignment, therefore preventing pain. It seems as if Pete Egoscue just fixes what misalignments improper movements cause, but I may be wrong as I have not read any of his material. I may just buy both of the books and compare their effectiveness.

Thanks for the recommendation biomieg.

I see what you mean but honestly, I think most if not all people already suffer from various postural dysfunctions. So it's as much about realignment as it is about prevention and with that in mind I think Egoscue is 'the man'.

(and indeed - the anterior tilting of the pelvis thing makes me a bit skeptical)

I do look forward to reading other people's ideas though.

biomieg said:

I'm not an expert but I'd rather buy one of Pete Egoscue's books when it comes to postural dysfunction/realignment.

http://www.egoscue.com

+1

Kyle, I understand why you may think that Pete's work may be less effective but allow me to elaborate. It's great that the 8 step book (I think I have that one surprisingly, I'll check later) describes locomotion, movement, etc. with a with a neutral pelvis, but how well does it talk about the underlying cause?

Egoscue method was originally recommended to me by Slizzardman. After ready that book, the insight I picked up about biomechanics is unbelievable and my own body's deficiencies that were discovered felt like an epiphany. After understanding WHY these misalignment happens, I didn't really need to know much about how to fix it or how to squat properly. It became completely intuitive. You'll be just as much the expert as anyone else as to how to address your issues.

Also, to put your mind at ease: Yes, a large portion of the population has an anteriorly tilted pelvis, and fixing that will address the vast majority of your deficiencies. That's just how much of a chain reaction all these relationships affects on the body.

PS: I reread your post. You are definitely mistaken if you thought that creating an anteriorly tilted pelvis is the way to go. Very misinformed!

RandomHavoc said:

Also, to put your mind at ease: Yes, a large portion of the population has an anteriorly tilted pelvis, and fixing that will address the vast majority of your deficiencies. That's just how much of a chain reaction all these relationships affects on the body.

PS: I reread your post. You are definitely mistaken if you thought that creating an anteriorly tilted pelvis is the way to go. Very misinformed!

It seemed as if the book promoted an anteriorly tilted pelvis. That is why I was asking for opinions because that sent a red flag up in my head.

kyle said:

It is about using correct and natural posture during everyday tasks, but it seems to place on emphasis on developing an anterior tilted pelvis.

Thanks for the opinion RandomHavoc; it looks like I'll buy Pete's book instead. If I still need further reading I'll buy the other book.

Kyle in the future it would be helpful if you could use more descriptive subjects for your new threads as 'any opinions' gives no idea of about what. This very often means members who might have useful advice won't bother to look, since you might just as well want an opinion about this years fashion workout shorts.

I fully agree with the above recommendations and will add a couple more

A very user friendly and practical program based on the same postural principles is

Treat Your Own Back - Robin McKenzie

One the other end check out Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance (4th Edition) - Stuart McGill for cutting edged programing at a more advanced level.

I wonder if Amazon rankings are really indicative of a books quality. Conformation bias is the most pervasive bias there is, so professionals reading the book are probably reading it because it confirms what they all ready believe, and uneducated people don't know the difference between good and bad information.

trianglechoke7 said:

I wonder if Amazon rankings are really indicative of a books quality. Conformation bias is the most pervasive bias there is, so professionals reading the book are probably reading it because it confirms what they all ready believe, and uneducated people don't know the difference between good and bad information.

Regarding the OPs book, i haven't read it any more than a skim of the quick peek, but we really can't generalize that EVERYONE has an anterior tilt, just look at her example photos and there are a couple of wonderful examples of a posterior tilt.

I'd say its fair to assume that almost anyone on this forum will have and anterior tilt but it does go the other way for some individuals. If you're one of those people than i'd bet the book is excellent.

I do find it strange that she seems to push the posterior tilt when in standing anterior is far more common. But i don't really want to buy the book just to find out why.

In any case a good fully generalized program would work to bring both issues back to neutral.

Mr Brady said:

Kyle in the future it would be helpful if you could use more descriptive subjects for your new threads as 'any opinions' gives no idea of about what. This very often means members who might have useful advice won't bother to look, since you might just as well want an opinion about this years fashion workout shorts.

Sorry, I wasn't thinking much. Next time I post, I'll have a flashy title. I ended up buying Pete's book, but if I am still not satisfied I will buy 8 Steps to a Pain-free Back later. I acually bought a couple of books including "Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition, and Human Performance", "A Tooth from a Tiger's Mouth", and Robb's new book. I can't wait until they arrive.

[i finally decided to join in order to respond to this topic.]

I personally have found the ideas explained in Esther Gokhale's book "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back" to be very useful.

While the relatively-common instruction to "tuck the pelvis" (meaning, move the bottom of the pelvis forward to be under or even slightly forward of the top) is certainly useful for many things (including for the 'hollow' position apparently often used in gymnastics), it can be overemphasized and overused. It is not appropriate when standing up straight -- or leaning over, for example. The L5-S1 spinal disc is actually wedge-shaped, so "tucking the pelvis" (retroversion) puts an undesirable amount of pressure on the anterior part of the disc.

The "normal" positioning of the pelvis is actually just slightly anteverted (top forward). Being conscious of this can help you avoid back pain when standing straight and when bending over. I recommend reading the book and deciding for yourself.

Thanks,

Todd

Todd said:

[i finally decided to join in order to respond to this topic.]

I personally have found the ideas explained in Esther Gokhale's book "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back" to be very useful.

While the relatively-common instruction to "tuck the pelvis" (meaning, move the bottom of the pelvis forward to be under or even slightly forward of the top) is certainly useful for many things (including for the 'hollow' position apparently often used in gymnastics), it can be overemphasized and overused. It is not appropriate when standing up straight -- or leaning over, for example. The L5-S1 spinal disc is actually wedge-shaped, so "tucking the pelvis" (retroversion) puts an undesirable amount of pressure on the anterior part of the disc.

The "normal" positioning of the pelvis is actually just slightly anteverted (top forward). Being conscious of this can help you avoid back pain when standing straight and when bending over. I recommend reading the book and deciding for yourself.

Thanks,

Todd

I totally agree that the tucking can be overdone, having been taught to do just that i found i was habitually over flattening my lumbar. The correction (tuck the tail bone) can often cause a new problem!

The general goal is a neutral pelvis, and getting it just right is an art form all its own. The usual problem is that folks try to solve it from one angle or another, and often over correct.

Another interesting thing to consider is in Robin McKenzie's book Treat Your Own Back. VARIETY - in other words his research lead him to conclude that there is no ONE right position, that we need to use all of the variations to keep the spine moving. Ironically his book is the simplest of all i've read, the least dogmatic (not to imply this title is, i haven't read it) and i think should be the underpinning of how we interpret all the other more specific work that came after him.