2008-07-07 Absolutely amazing.

Do yourself a favour and buy this book.

Over the last 15 years, I have been to just about every kind of medical consultant and complementary therapist there is and found, at best, only temporary relief from chronic neck and low back pain. I must have spent thousands.

This book advocates that knots in specific places in specific muscles can cause the muscle to partially and permanently contract, pulling associated muscles and joints out of alignment. This causes "referred pain" in the associated muscles and joints and a lack of blood flow through the muscle. Massaging the Trigger Points to release the knots allows the muscle to fully relax and whilst I found it very painful, it is definitely worth persevering with.

After only a week of massaging the trigger points detailed in this book my low back pain has subsided completely. I need to work more on my neck pain and I have ordered some massage tools to help with that, but even with the limitations of a tennis ball and my thumb there is already some improvement in mobility.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. It's so good I bought another copy for my massage therapist.