Some Selected Books on Physical Health and Self-Healing
Compiled by Terry Slade
(Mainly concerned with the musculoskeletal system)
See also my page of Books on Food and Health, my page of Qigong Books. and my page of Yoga Books.
Anyone interested in the human body should have an atlas of human anatomy. An atlas does not explain how the body works, it just has pictures. There are several major atlases available. Clemente, Netter, and Sobotta are probably the best of the major atlases. To me, the main use for these books is just to look at them and be amazed. The illustrations in a good atlas are very detailed. You can find some of these atlases in bookstores. They can also be special-ordered at bookstores (or from Amazon.com). Or you may just want to find them in a library since they are kind of expensive. You can also get them cheap in used bookstores and on ebay.
I have a separate page with more details on Atlases of Human Anatomy.
As for how the body works, there are various current college-level textbooks on Anatomy and Physiology (A&P) which cover the basics in detail. There are also textbooks on Kinesiology, which is the study of human movement.
Anatomy of Movement - Blandine Calais-Germain
1993 Eastland Press 289 pages ($28.50 paperback) ISBN 0-939616-17-3
A very special book that explains very specifically what each individual
muscle does. Here is some info from the back cover:
"Anatomy of Movement is a dynamic, integrated approach to the sudy of the
physical structures of the musculoskeletal system and their relationship
to the movements of the human body. In clear and concise text illustrated
with more than a thousand graphic drawings, the author takes the reader on
a lively tour of the muscles, bones, ligaments and joints of the arms, legs
and trunk. The focus throughout the book is on anatomy not for its own sake
but in its functional relationship to the actual movements of the body in
dance, exercise and other physical disciplines."
I highly recommend this book to students and teachers of yoga, dance,
martial arts, sports, etc. and to all kinds of healers and students of
the human body. There is also a companion book of exercises, which I have
not yet seen.
Read more about it at Amazon.com
Wow! This is one heavy-duty book. If you are into bodywork, yoga, or any kind of physical healing of the human body this one should blow your mind. This is a major development in the understanding of how the musculoskeletal system works. Most of the literature on bones and muscles is concerned with looking at them in isolation, one at a time. This book explains a comprehensive theory of how muscles work in groups, which Myers has broken down into several lines or "trains". The author is a certified Rolfer (and studied with Ida Rolf) and has apparently developed his own spinoff of Rolfing called KMI - Kinesis Myofascial Integration. He also studied with Moshe Feldenkrais. This book is not concerned with any particular therapeutic techniques though, it is just meant to explain the theory of the "anatomy trains". On one hand this is a very complex book, which you could study for a lifetime, on the other hand it is really just kind of an overview of this theory, which I suspect the author will be expanding upon in future writings.
Here are a couple of official websites with much more info:
www.anatomytrains.com
www.anatomytrains.net(This site uses a lot of Flash)
Incredible book, almost like an anatomy/physiology textbook. I can't imagine that any doctor wouldn't learn a lot from this book. But should also be of interest to any owner of a human body. Although it seems to be meant to be more readable than medical textbooks, it is not light reading.
Comments from some reviews:
"A masterful synthesis, copiously illustrated, of body therapies and
anatomical-physiological functions" - East West Magazine
"A broad presentation of the rationale of bodywork, including the relevant
physiological, anatomical, and neuropsychological information one should
know if one practices any form of bodywork." Publishers Weekly
"Juhan blends a novelist's sensitiviy for language and an academic's respect
for accuracy with a bodyworker's respect for the living, sentient flesh."
Yoga Journal
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Integrates ideas from Ida Rolf, Moshe Feldenkrais, Fritz Perls, Wilhelm Reich and many other pioneers. Explains muscular tension and how the body and mind are interrelated. Very highly recommended, a classic and one of my favorite books. Dychtwald is a gerontologist and has other books on the subject of aging.
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"A comprehensive guide to more than fifty mind-body practices that can relieve pain, reduce stress, and foster health, spiritual growth, and inner peace". Kind of an encyclopedia of different types of bodywork and physical disciplines, including lots of obscure and interesting approaches I had never heard of. Very well-done and includes some interesting examples of exercises from many of the practices.
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Good thorough chapters covering major styles of bodywork, including Swedish Massage, Rolfing, Feldenkrais, Alexander, Myofascial Release, Trager, Cranio-Sacral Therapy and more. The author is a bodyworker and experienced each of the major therapies for review in the book.
Joseph Heller was the first president of the Rolf Institute in 1975. He left that position in 1978 to found Hellerwork. He thought that Rolfing should not have to hurt. This book is an introduction to the theories of Hellerwork and is loaded with interesting information on the human body. For more info on Hellerwork, see www.hellerwork.com
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May be awhile before I can afford these expensive volumes. This is the bible of trigger point therapy. The technique she invented was actually Trigger Point Injection Therapy, where a trigger point was injected with a solution of saline and procaine prior to applying a stretch. Theses volumes contain a lot of specific info on "referred pain" - "if it hurts here, look for a problem here". Travell was the private physician to president Kennedy and president Johnson. She wrote an autobiography, Office Hours: Day and Night, which I hope to read someday.
Bonnie Prudden built on the ideas of Travell and others to develop Trigger Point Therapy, or Myotherapy. Her technique involves no injections. Basically - find a trigger point and press on it. You can apply this technique to yourself - I think Prudden has recommended using the Theracane - but this book seems to mainly show how one person can work on another. There are many other books on the subject by Prudden and others.
This guy was way ahead of his time. Someday we may understand more about the energy fields that he carefully details here. These are reproductions of the original works from the 1950's. Very interesting. You can learn a lot just looking at the many unique illustrations.
Read more about VOL 1 at Amazon Read more about VOL 2 at Amazon
A textbook on Neuromuscular therapy.
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For more books about Feldenkrais, see extensive list here: www.feldenkrais-resources.com/products.htm
Probably the best book to read on Feldenkrais. I've had this book for years but it seemed too heavy for me when I tried to read it before. I still haven't made it through the book but now it seems like one of the most interesting things I can read. Its heavy all right. I haven't gotten to his earlier stuff, but I think his ideas are totally matured by this time. In addition to lots of explaining, there are ten "Feldenkrais lessons" included.
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Read about it or order it at Amazon.com.
An amazing book by a senior Feldenkrais teacher.
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This is a book of ten Feldenkrais exercises presented in a user-friendly way. It can be hard to work with Feldenkrais exercises from books, audio tapes seem to be preferred.
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Many more books on the Alexander Technique are listed here: alexandertech.org/books/books99.html
1996 Henry Holt
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Even if you have no intention of being Rolfed, books about Rolfing can be very interesting. More info: www.rolf.org
Classsic work on Rolfing by the originator. Explains the concept of deep muscular tension and the role of the fascia in holding this tension. Rolfing is a form of deep-tissue bodywork. This book has about 400 anatomical drawings created especially for the book and over 500 photos of people at various stages of being Rolfed. You could learn a lot just looking at the pictures. In fact that would be why I would recommend getting this book. Also, it is not meant to explain how to do Rolfing, you have to go to school for that.
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Subtitled "Fascial Anatomy and Physical Reality", this is a book about the myofascial tissue of the human body.
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Written by a Rolfer who specializes in working on the pelvis.
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Subtitled "A Rolfer's view of human flexibility".
William "Dub" Leigh studied Rolfing with Ida Rolf, Feldenkrais with Moshe Feldenkrais and Zen Body Therapy with Tanouye Roshi. He tells lots of interesting stories about clients he worked with and about his teachers.
Very interesting. Explains muscular tension as Somatic Memory Amnesia. Thomas Hanna was a student of Moshe Feldenkrais. Amazon
Also, see www.somatics.com
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Out of print. Have not seen it.
And for a very large list of books on RSI, see Paul Marxhausen's RSI Page
This is the best book on the subject. I would say if you get just one book ...,
but really I would say get two, including Sharon Butler's book, listed below.
These books are about self-healing. It's Not CTS covers the subject very
thoroughly. Lots of info on anatomy, various types of RSI, lots of specific
advice and lots of stretching exercises. And tons of resource info - where to
go for more info. This is not a book about how to choose a surgeon. In
fact surgery is mentioned in the chapter on "debatable therapies".
The authors' website:www.rsiprogram.com
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This is an amazing book. I love the title. Conquer is the attitude for these problems - heal yourslf - conquer it! Where other books on CTS, RSI, arthritis, etc. will try to tell you to just get used to it because its permanent (or maybe this miracle nutrient will help) and maybe give suggestions for finding a doctor for surgery, this book explains the problem clearly and explains how to fix it yourself. She cured herself of CTS and claims that these conditions can not only be alleviated but that you can keep doing the activity that "caused" the problem. She explains that repetitive motion itself is not the cause but that there is also some pre-existing deep tension involved (which causes misallignment of muscles/bones). After a very concise but thorough explanation (a 21-page section titled Self-Care Success), the book describes 44 exercises used to GENTLY stretch tissues in various parts of the upper body. You can find some of these stretches in hatha yoga, but there is surprisingly little overlap. You could think of this as very specific therapeutic yoga for CTS/RSI. The author is trained in Hellerwork. Essential for anyone suffering from CTS/RSI or various other problems of the hands and arms (or just lots of deep chronic muscular tension in general) or anyone who just wants to understand the subject. This book is aimed at anyone with upper-body RSI, not just computer workers, who sometimes seem to be the only target audience for this type of info. While the above book (Its Not CTS) may give a broader coverage to the subject, this book is more specifically a manual for self-therapy, while also including the essential explanation of the problem (the best explanation I have seen). The positive attitude that permeates this book is also very important. There's a lot of people that need this book. I hope you will check it out and tell others about it. The author should get some kind of Nobel prize or something.
Although this book remains the best on the subject, it has been superceded by the author's website, where self-help programs for specific conditions can be ordred. These are very detailed programs using the ideas found in her book, but with much updated and additional information, and are specifically tailored to particular conditions. I highly recommend purchasing one of here programs if you are suffering from an upper body RSI condition. Check out her website here: selfcare4rsi.com
Read about book or order it from Amazon
Some of Sharon's posts to the Sorehand mailing list are archived on the web here. And a few more are collected here.
Maybe not as good as the above two books, but this book is also oriented toward self-healing. I got lots of good ideas from it. Her program includes self-massage of the neck and arms, stretching exercises and strengthening exercises using 2lb dumbbells. (looks like this may be out of print)
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Long considered to be the bible of RSI. Lots of good info. This book is very much slanted toward the traditional medical approach (surgery). Also includes lots of general medical info (anatomy, etc) and lots of info on ergonomics, which I don't think is really the problem or solution, but may be very important for some people at some times. If you want to read widely on the subject, this is one of the top books to get. If you don't want to read about surgery and just want to heal yourself, you may want to skip it, it might be scary, and that's no help.
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Subtitled "Body Awareness Training for Pain-Free Computer Use". Tons of info on computer use and ergonomics, posture, etc. The author is a Feldenkrais teacher and a black belt in Aikido and Karate. Excellent book.
The author's website: www.being-in-movement.com
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If you are really interested in learning more about hands, get this book. Vast coverage of the subject of human hands, written by a neurologist. Totally fascinating.
Amazon (hardback) Amazon (paperback)
General Fitness / Self-Healing / Misc.
Most highly recommended! A totally amazing book. Explains that our bodies were designed for motion and that many problems are caused by lack of motion. After three chapters explaining basic concepts, there are chapters for each area of the body with specific exercises (referred to as E-cises). He gives lots of indepth information about how the body works. Lots of deep wisdom here.
The author's website: www.egoscue.com.
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If you happen to have this book, its great. If you are wanting to get a book, probably better to get the one above, its 8 years newer and is a better book. This one also contains exercises, but rather than being organized by body part, they are organized by four different types of bodies.
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Explains very clearly what the rotator cuff is and how to prevent or recover from injury. This is a very thorough treatment of the subject with many specific exercises. The book is really meant to empower you to take care of yourself. Judging by the quality of this book, I would assume that the other publications from Health for Life would also be worth getting. See their website below.
Health for Life - (Read more or order here) Amazon
Subtitled "Featuring the Breakthrough Methond of Active Isolated Stretching. 59 stretches for over 55 different sports and everyday activities."
Subtitled "How to Have a Perfectly Tuned Body and Mind". The author is a Hellerworker. And also a fan of Buckminster Fuller, who is quoted throughout the book. Not what I was expecting (a book full of physical exercises) but more a lot of explanation of general but important ideas. Like about standing, sitting, walking, breathing. Very interesting book.
The author's website: www.golten.co.uk
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VERY interesting book. Subtitled "Russian Flexibility Breakthroughs", this book starts out with a long and clear explanation of many technical aspects of stretching including many new ideas from eastern Europe. Also includes a lengthy section detailing an exercise program consisting of "Mobility Drills" and "Dynamic Stretches". Many of these exercises will be recognized from elsewhere. There's also a video. Haven't seen it yet - the book is expensive enough. He has a couple of other books and videos too. Check out the publisher's website - they have lots of interesting books and videos on "health, healing and self-defense", (including lots of Qigong and Tai Chi stuff): Dragon Door Publications.
Detailed scientific info on stretching.
A really cool book. Lots of stretching exercises that I hadn't come across before. Well-illustrated with lots of photos of a couple of fit young models.
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The author is a brilliant and well-respected physical therapist. Presents 7 exercises for the back and 7 exercises for the neck. These are the same exercises presented in a couple of paperbacks published in the 80's - Treat Your Own Back and Treat Your Own Neck. Lots of additional info is included. Definitely recommended for anyone suffering from back pain.
The author's website: McKenzie Institute International
Has lots of specific exercises for specific conditions. Very good book.
Your Health, about 40 pages, written in 1934, and Retrun to Life Through Contrology, about 100 pages, written in 1945. The second work contains the original mat exercises and includes illustrations of them being performed by Pilates. Joseph Pilates died in 1967. He appointed Romana Krysanowska as his successor.
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Pilates training can involve all kinds of expensive equipment but there are also lots of exercises done without equipment. This book covers just the "matwork" which does not require any equipment. The exercises emphasise working on the abdominals. Also includes a section on the "Standing Arm Series", exercises performed with dumbells, recommended weight 2lbs. Lots of similarities to yoga but more about strengthening than stretching. There's a bunch of books on Pilates and I haven't really checked them out but this seems to be a pretty good one.
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A very popular book on the general subject of stretching, with many exercises. The author has a few other books on stretching and fitness, including one called Stretching in the Office. He also developed Stretchware, a computer program to remind office workers to stretch. See the publishers website for more info: www.shelterpub.com
Read more at Amazon.com.
The author cured himself of blindness and dedicated himself to helping others. Lots of ideas and interesting techniques for specific problems.
Read about it or order it at Amazon.com.
The main idea here is that you can get just as much benefit from a few 10-minute workouts a day as from a 30-60 minute workout. This has to do with stimulating growth hormone. I don't have this book, I read about it and the premise is interesting.
Based on the idea that most exercise programs are designed for men and are not appropriate for women. The program deals with strengthening the core muscles, which support the spine. Although this book is for women, anyone can learn a lot from it. Highly recommended!
The author's website: www.brillpt.com
These are the best books on bodybuilding/weight-training I have found.
The author's website: www.hardgainer.com
Read more about Handbook at Amazon Read more about Beyond Brawn at Amazon
A book of high-quality color illustrations showing which muscles are used in 111 different standard weight-training exercises. Very cool book!
Read more about it at Amazon
I got this book when looking for info on healing my hands. It turned out to be not quite what I expected, but a very interesting book anyway. Basically a very specialized weight-training manual just for developing hand strength. This also led me to discover Ironmind, the publisher of this book, where lots more very serious weight-training info can be found.
Ironmind website: www.ironmind.com
Read more about it at Amazon
High Intensity Training (HIT) is an important newer concept. I don't know much about it, but this looks to be a good book on the subject.
Read more about it at Amazon
The author is a gynecologist who has published many books on womens health issues. Here is a line from an editorial review at Amazon: "Quite possibly every female over the age of 12 will find this huge book enlightening, pain saving, and perhaps even lifesaving."
Read more about it at Amazon
Excellent book on the subject of osteoporosis.
Author's website: www.strongwomen.com
Read more about it at Amazon
Have not yet read -looks good though.
Duesberg is the original "AIDS dissident", who questions the theory that AIDS is caused by HIV. He has been fighting to have his message heard for many years. This book states his case thoroughly. The actual text is 460 pages, the rest is appendixes and references. VERY interesting read.
These are just a bunch of books that I have come across in my own studies on health and healing. This is not any kind of a comprehensive list, just some books that I happen to have found, somewhat reflecting my own interests. Amazon links are provided for reference and convenience. I earn no commission.
Also, a lot of interesting books are listed at the Rolf Institute's website:
www.rolf.org/bookstore.
A good list of books relating to deep tissue massage is here:
www.deeptissue.com/books/books.html
Bodymind - Ken Dychtwald
Pain Free: A Revolutionary Method for Stopping Chronic Pain - Pete Egoscue
Job's Body - A Handbook for Bodywork - Deane Juhan
Anatomy of Movement - Blandine Calais-Germain
Anatomy Trains - Thomas W. Myers
Rolfing - Ida Rolf
Somatics - Thomas Hanna
Conquering Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Other Repetitive Strain Injuries Sharon J. Butler
The Endless Web - R. Louis Schultes, PhD, Rosemary Feitis, DO
And I would get an altas of human anatomy.
And of course, this stack of books would be quite overwhelming itself, but you can use them as reference, read them a little at a time, just look at the pictures, or approach them any way you want - but spending time with these books can give you a unique awareness of the human body that you may not otherwise ever obtain.
Back to Slade's Home Page Back to Slade's Health Page Revised 08/28/07.