Self-Diagnosis vs. Doctor's Opinion

So you're feeling this nagging, persistent, chronic pain somewhere in your lower back. Although, when you try to pinpoint the pain, you're not really sure where it's coming from. Maybe, you think, it's a herniated disc, since you have trouble bending over and leaning while doing simple tasks like brushing your teeth or washing your face at the sink. Or maybe it shows up after a round of golf, just as you step out of the car after driving home. Once, you felt it while sneezing. And another time, it came while you attempted to do a jumpshot with a wad of paper you were throwing away into the trash.

But mostly it just feels like your body is achy, particularly in the morning when moving to get out of bed. It's not a sharp, debilitating pain. It's more of a dull, bothersome pain, and it makes you think, Wow, is this what it's like to get old?

After a few months of this, and maybe an incident such as that round of golf, you begin to think it might be worth making a doctor's appointment and maybe get an MRI. Stop right there. Not because you shouldn't go to the doctor, but because you should educate yourself first on what the doctor might suggest for a cure.

So let's say you've already passed that stage and have done a bit of research, even talking to a friend who had similar aches and pains and is now seeing a chiropractor or acupuncturist for their ailments. No, they haven't been cured, but they feel a lot better with regular treatments. Again, stop right there before you go to one of your friend's "experts."

Why stop? Because I've spent thousands of dollars trying to rid myself of the same pain. I've visited doctors, acupuncturists, chiropractors, masseuses, and Chinese herbalists. When a colleague mentioned having surgery for her own pain, I inquired how she felt afterward. "I still have the pain. But I am about $5,000 wiser now." Be very careful when a doctor insists on surgery. You'll be out of commission for a while, and it may not even fix the problem. I asked her what the doctor said. "He said, 'I'm going to prescribe you with pain killers.' I said, 'Get the hell away from me! I could've taken pain killers without the frickin' surgery.' Plus, I don't want to be dependent on prescription pain killers for the rest of my life! I don't want to be like Michael Jackson!"

The truth is... there are many ways of getting a little relief, but no way of curing the pain for good. If you find some relief in yoga or stretching, however, you're probably fooling yourself. We'll get into more of that later.

Over these next few pages, I'm going to share some of the knowledge I've gained while researching my pain. I'll also talk about the many treatments I sought for it, and what you can expect when you do the same. And believe me, you probably will do the same, regardless of what you read here.

But for a small percentage of you who will actually practice what I offer, I promise you one thing: relief.