No one is immune. For people from champion athletes to desk-bound white-collar professionals, many simple acts of life--a relaxing evening stroll through the neighborhood, an exhilarating run along a sandy beach, just bending down to tie a loose shoelace-are often acts of torture. The walking wounded suffer from torn rotator cuffs, tennis elbow, jogger's knees, bad backs, stiff necks, sore feet, and swollen ankles. It could, without exaggeration, be called a modem epidemic.

In this brilliant book, renowned anatomical functionalist Pete Egoscue identifies the epidemic's causes and effects. By recognizing that the human body is dependent on adequate motion to maintain its full range of physical functions, he has revolutionized both the treatment of musculoskeletal pain and the techniques for training athletes to achieve peak performance levels.

Brimming with common sense and practical advice, the heart of this important book consists of twenty-two easy-to-do, highly effective exercises that stretch, strengthen, and relax the body, allowing a return to proper alignment.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 51 reviews)

wonderful program

a friend recommended this book to me. i feel the author identified my body type and i am doing the exercises religiously. i do believe my back issues and hip concerns will be resolved using his program! great! i am 56 years old and have issues for 30 years....wish i had found him sooner!
September 21, 2008

Coservative tretaments

This is an interesting book for the lay person as well as for the professional. Having been a fan of Pete Egoscue in the past, I was excited to read this installment. It is a good read however, it does get a bit hard to follow at times.

If you are a healthcare provider, this might be interesting to you. The layperson may find it redundant at times. Overall, it offers some good information and a different approach to treating health.
September 02, 2008

A good read, but some premises range from flawed to outrageous

Overall, a good read, with some salient, helpful points.

First to the outrageous... go this link http://74.125.95.104/search?q=cache:b0In-a8M1n8J:www.shareguide.com/Egoscue.html+egoscue+e-cises&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=us where Pete Egoscue states, among other things, that diabetes can be the result of... postural imbalance!

Boy, I'd love to see the scientific papers on THAT one!

I'm not sure the fact that feet turn outwards necessarily demonstrate dysfunction or an imbalance. Some stretching and yoga gurus insist a slight outward turn is actually more proper. Some also argue that there is no evidence that we are meant to 'hang', if you will, at 90 degree angles for every joint. No anatomical evidence for this.

Also, his idea that you need to tighten the quads when performing some of the e-cises is dubious. "Sherrington's Law" is widely promoted by many who say this will release the antagonistic muscles. However, co-contraction often occurs, and you end up fighting against yourself while trying to stretch. Try deadlifting a barbell but only tense your hamstrings, not your quads, or vica versa. Good luck....

A better example: Sit with legs out front, flex your toes foot back at yourself, and keep your shoulders down while performing Sitting Floor. Now, this time, bend forward at the hip, not the lumbar spine, but just let your feet point forward while lifting your chest.

The former is an Egoscue alignment e-cise that has some secondary benefit resulting in a stretch of the posterior legs... hamstrings. But flexing your toes back at you tenses the connecting fascia which will ultimately fight against you. The latter method will give you a far deeper stretch and retained looseness in your stretch, though not technically an alignment exercise.

As a glaucoma patient, I found many of his touted e-cises, with feet up on the couch or wall, undoable for those of us who can't put our feet higher than our heart due to eye pressure problems. Unfortunately, this eliminated a significant portion of the Egoscue method.

On the plus side, many of his traction e-cise releases work.I found his E-cobra position helpful. There are, of course, dozens of others. I suggest this book is a decent springboard, but that one should measure it against your own results over time, not just take it as dogma. As in anything, if it works, it works, good for you.

August 27, 2008

Saved Me From Surgury

Excellent book..... Best kept secret. I had heard of Pete and heard 1st hand from some folks who were "healed" / recovered by following his regimen. I then was going to have to have shoulder surgery because of extensive pain caused by extensive computer work and bad posture. I decided to buy the book and check it out. No Surgery. Better posture. Better body. It allowed me to focus doing the right thing for my body. Much easier than traditional PT, yoga or weigh lifting. In fact, I found out that my former gym routine wasn't optimal until I got my body mechanics right by using Pete's book. Thanks Pete. I'll probably never meet you, but I am grateful for your work.
June 15, 2008

The Egoscue Method of Health Through Motion

Egoscue theraphy is excellant. Had past previous books on to friends, just re-supplying my library.
January 28, 2008

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