8 steps to a pain-free back
by Esther Gokhale · first published 2008
83% recommend8% neutral8% critical
Why HN recommends it
A practical guide to posture and how the body carries weight, drawing on cross-cultural observations. It covers easing back pain and improving sitting and walking habits, especially for desk workers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Demonstrates the Gokhale method--a technique for alleviating back pain--using eight steps, and includes illustrations, exercises, and tips on how to deal with issues that might arise while learning each step.
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The author mentioned in this article, Esther Gokhale, wrote a book several years ago with the somewhat goofy title 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, which I can't recommend enough, especially if you suffer from back pain. It really transformed the way in which I think about my posture and ergonomics in general. One of the things she touched on in…
on “Lost Posture: Why Indigenous Cultures Don't Have Back Pain” ↗A great book that will help with posture, including fixing pelvic tilt, is 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back by Esther Gokhale [1]. The author traveled around the world and looked through history to find out if we always had such terrible posture. It turns out that industrialized societies put a large emphasis…
on “Proper Breathing Brings Better Health” ↗The book "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back" talks all about it and has a long-term plan on how to address it for you. https://www.amazon.com/Steps-Pain-Free-Back-Solutions-Should...
on “Proper Breathing Brings Better Health” ↗James Hong recently wrote a blog post containing a video and excerpts from a book by Esther Gokhale called "8 steps to a pain free back". It's worth a look, helped me. http://blog.jhong.org/2009/02/back-pain.html
on “Ask HN: Back problems” ↗Gokhale's 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back, via http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1739607 (thanks, HN). It's not the best presentation or the best science, but it has ended my back pain and given me awareness of my body. Anyone who sits with…
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2010 and briefly why” ↗Esther Gokhale's book "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back" saved my back. I basically learned that I was sitting like an idiot for hours at a time, and walking in a manner that did not distribute my weight efficiently on my back. I went from hand-wringing over…
on “Lost Art of Bending Over: How Other Cultures Spare Their Spines” ↗The scan is from a book called “8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back” by Esther Gokhale which I recommend reading and makes the case for a J shaped spine (rather than S shape).
on “The Workman Keyboard Layout Philosophy (2010)” ↗8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0979303605 This book fixed my posture. After reading it, I understood for the first time what it actually means to have good posture.
on “Ask HN: Tricks to improve posture?” ↗…come to feeling chronic pain that I had no control over. I tried never ending solutions including Physical Therapy but nothing helped. But I finally got control over it by doing TWO things: 1. Reading 8 steps to a pain free back by Susan Adams and putting lessons in action right away. 2. Performing THORACIC MOBILITY WORK I can't speak for you but this CHANGED MY LIFE! I am back at it again with no pain. If you would like to…
on “Back pain is a problem which is badly treated” ↗If you have a bad back or are interested in posture, there is a wonderful book (ignore the generic title) called "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back", written by a woman who observed that people in non-Westernized cultures have very little back problems and that they exhibit natural choices in posture that we lost in the West due to various trends…
on “Screw your standing desk. How about squatting?” ↗…poor posture while sitting. I was hoping to find some good feedback on those who have used lumoback ? Please chime in. For those like me, I'll recommend this book. It made my life slightly less painful "8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back". Look it up online. I'm not affiliated with them in any way.
on “‘Sitting is the new smoking’” ↗…(likely plantar fasciitis) that disappears but comes back about once every two weeks. Both have gotten much better with some targeted yoga exercises, but it's a journey. I'm slowly going through the book 8 Steps to a Pain-Free Back by Esther Gokhale (https://www.amazon.com/Steps-Pain-Free-Back-Solutions-Should...). The author studied posture in industrial vs. non-industrial societies, and she concluded that most pain is not inevitable.…
on “For back pain, the subtle moves of the Feldenkrais Method can help some people” ↗…spinal fusion surgery - a well regarded spinal surgeon told me odds of surgery improving my pain were worse than a coin flip. I’ve also read a bunch of commonly recommended books like back mechanic and 8 steps to a pain free back and they both did nothing for me. I continue to do core exercises and everything else 2 years of therapists suggested to no avail.
on “Novel mind-body program outperforms other treatments for chronic back pain” ↗…If you don't address it, the pain is going to break you. It will become the first thing you think about in the morning and before going to sleep. Take care of yourself! I'm going to buy and read the 8 Steps to a Pain Free Back book - here are some things that have helped me MASSAGE THERAPY HELPS. MUSCLE RELAXERS HELP. Especially with bulging discs you are likely to experience muscle stiffness (a somewhat natural reaction of…
on “Back pain is a problem which is badly treated” ↗