Healing Back Pain

by Dr. John Sarno
Healing Back Pain cover
Good Books rating 4.0
Technical:
  • ID: 1120
  • Added: 2025-09-26
  • Updated: 2025-09-26
  • Reviews: 4
Reviews
brentwoodlibrarynh.org · Unknown · 2025-10-01
transformative 4.50

The reviewer found Dr. John Sarno's book 'Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection' transformative, crediting it with curing their chronic pain through journaling and addressing repressed emotions. They appreciated the theory's logic but were skeptical of the lack of medical community support and scientific studies.

The reviewer shares their personal journey with chronic pain, which they managed to alleviate through Dr. John Sarno's book 'Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection'. The book proposes that chronic pain is often caused by repressed emotions, and the reviewer found relief by journaling about their feelings. They liked the book's tidy logic and the reassurance that their pain was real, even though they were initially skeptical due to the lack of medical backing and scientific studies. The reviewer's experience with the book was so positive that they now recommend it to others suffering from chronic pain.

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    I appreciated the tidy logic of Dr. Sarno’s theory: emotional pain causes physical pain.

    I didn’t like that no one in the medical community seemed to side with Dr. Sarno, or that he had no studies to back up his program.

    I chose journaling and began writing pages-long lists of everything I was angry, insecure or worried about.

nytimes.com · Unknown · 2021-11-09
excellent 4.50

The reviewer finds Dr. John Sarno's book 'Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection' highly relevant and applicable today. They appreciate its clear explanation of how suppressed emotions can cause physical pain and find the book's approach logical and helpful.

The reviewer is impressed by the timeless relevance of Dr. John Sarno's book, 'Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection'. They particularly value the book's exploration of how suppressing emotions like anger and frustration can lead to physical pain, including back pain. The reviewer finds Sarno's approach different from common theories about stress and pain, emphasizing that people often prefer dealing with physical ailments over confronting emotional issues. They describe the book as accurate, clear, and logical, providing a step-by-step guide to relieving both physical and emotional pain. The reviewer personally found the book helpful in ways they hadn't anticipated and recommends it highly.

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    Is Dr. John Sarno a crackpot or an author worthy of critical acclaim?

    What makes this different from the commonly held theory that stress causes things like backache, ulcers and headaches is Dr. Sarno’s conviction and proof that we would rather deal with an actual physical ailment instead of uncovering and working through ugly emotions we may not even be aware of.

    It is not psycho-babble or Fruedian dribble, but a decisive explanation and easy to understand step by step guide to relieving pain in body and mind.

vox.com · Unknown · 2017-10-02
hopeful 4.00

The book presents a controversial theory that back pain is often psychosomatic, with many patients reporting significant relief after adopting Sarno's methods. Critics, however, question the lack of scientific evidence supporting his claims.

Healing Back Pain by Dr. John Sarno offers a radical perspective on back pain, suggesting that it is largely caused by emotional factors and can be alleviated through psychological techniques. Many patients, including high-profile individuals like Howard Stern and Larry David, have reported dramatic improvements in their pain levels after following Sarno's methods. The book's appeal lies in its empowering message that pain can be controlled through mental focus and emotional awareness. However, the medical community remains skeptical due to the lack of rigorous scientific studies supporting Sarno's theories. While the book provides hope and relief for many sufferers, it is important to approach its claims with a critical eye and consider them alongside mainstream medical advice.

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    Thousands of people, including myself and my husband, cured our chronic back pain using [Sarno’s] methods.

    I still sometimes have pain now in times of stress — but I can literally make it go away with mental focus.

    Sarno is probably America’s most famous back pain doctor. He argued that pain was actually the result of a psychosomatic process and emotional factors.

painscience.com · Unknown · 2011-04-21
mixed 3.00

The reviewer acknowledges the historical importance of Dr. John Sarno's work on the mind-body connection in healing back pain, praising his articulate writing and valuable insights. However, they criticize Sarno for exaggerating the power of the mind and selling miracle cures, noting that his ideas are not entirely original and overlap with established concepts like myofascial pain syndrome.

Dr. John Sarno's books on healing back pain are seen as historically important, highlighting the mind's role in health. The reviewer appreciates Sarno's articulate writing and valuable insights, which are beneficial for both patients and healthcare professionals. However, they criticize Sarno for taking his ideas too far, attributing excessive power to the mind and promising near miracles in his more recent books. The reviewer also points out that Sarno's concept of tension myositis syndrome (TMS) is not original and overlaps with the more established myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). Despite these criticisms, Sarno's work is praised for making complex ideas accessible to the public and emphasizing education and reassurance in treating back pain.

Quick quotes

    Sarno has built his career around an important and interesting idea, about the importance of the mind in health. This is a valuable baby that should not be thrown out with the bathwater.

    The “bathwater” is that Sarno has also taken his idea too far, attributing far too much power to the mind. His most recent books promise near miracles and have lost touch with reality.

    Sarno was saying the same thing about twenty years sooner, and he deserves credit for an early illumination of something profound about human nature: that just like blind faith can cause some healing via the placebo effect, informed confidence can also be powerful.

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