Chronic Pain!: The Overlooked Simplicity of using the fingers to explore painful tissues to find and reverse the primary cause of Chronic Pain Including Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
In this self-help book, Schatz roots out a single underlying cause for chronic pain and offers a method to treat it. A diagnosis of chronic pain presents a patient with two options: follow a doctor’s advice or seek an alternative method of treatment. Schatz points out that injury or long-lasting physical or emotional stress can leave a mark on the body, as layers of tightened or thickened tissues put pressure on blood vessels and nerves, causing pain. The only way to diagnose these tissues properly, the author asserts, is through touch—an exploration with the fingertips on the skin, aided by lotion—but it’s a method that doctors appear to be reluctant to include in their practices. Over prolonged periods, and sometimes quite swiftly, such explorations can relieve thickened tissue and return it to a soft, supple, pain-free state, he writes. Schatz divides his book into a number of useful sections, focusing on carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, migraines and fibromyalgia. Throughout, he maintains a comfortable, accessible scientific tone, but the book unfortunately lacks references; a review of anatomical dermatomes, for example, might have been welcome during the book’s discussion of referred pain. The author is trained in physical therapy, and apparently finds remarkable success with his patients, but he may not be able to change the medical establishment’s pervasive disinterest in his method. That said, this is an excellent reference that should attract a large audience among those seeking relief from unmanageable pain. A concise, easy-to-use guide showcasing a delightfully simple method of exploring, and alleviating, the underlying causes of chronic pain.