The Pain Relief Secret: How to Retrain Your Nervous System, Heal Your Body, and Overcome Chronic Pain

Im doing the entire course and am on the full hour exercise from number one ; this is the only thing in the entire spectrum of physio, orthopedics or fitness that has gotten me upright again and walking ; the orthopedic said I must do it 4-6 hours per day because I have muscle contractures in the back resulting from a Vehicle accident which have pulled my pelvis and spine out of alignment. I am so impressed with how Somatics works ; yoga or Pilates will only reinforce the tightening of the muscles so somatics is the only answer.

Beautifully written and set out in a clear and logical way. Moreover the ideas put forward also make complete sense.Sarah explains how the vast majority of muscle and joint pain is driven by stress and also how learned muscular habits can damage the body. The aim of the book and indeed Clinical Somatics is to empower people to take control of their health, so they can free themselves of chronic pain. This is in fact exactly what it has done for me after suffering with excruciating chronic hip pain for 18 months. During that time I had 3 MRI's and saw three consultants/surgeons, none of whom could even give me a diagnosis for well over a year. Physiotherapy was of little help and I began to lose hope that I would ever get better when my last consultant told me I needed a hip replacement. At 52 years old, I wasn't prepared to accept this and spent my time searching for something that could help me. In so doing I came across Clinical Somatics online and expanded my knowledge further by reading Thomas Hanna's book and this more recent one by Sarah. I noticed one reader citing a lack of evidence, however there is in fact a great deal of scientific evidence and literature concerning the neuroplasticity of the brain and the positive and negative effects this can have on the body. I had not heard of Clinical Somatics until a few months ago, but now I feel like I've achieved the impossible - I am completely out of pain. Thank you so much Sarah.

The book has the basics of nerve, muscle and bone function - kind of repetitive to fill up the pages but at the end of every chapter that seems to promise exercises to relieve pain there is simply a link to one that is basic, and then the option for more courses to really get to the problem - at more cost of course. So too repetitive for me and too much of a promotion for on-line courses.

My doctor suggested this book. I am only on chapter one but am finding it very interesting and from what I've read it is making sense. Well written.

The Pain Relief Secret is for anyone experiencing pain and wanting to do something about it. I take Sarah Warren’s online classes on somatics and have been reading her blogs for the last year so I expected this book to be thorough and clear and it did not disappoint. Ms. Warren is a natural teacher and healer—she knows a lot, knows how to communicate it and is generous and patient in what she shares. The book begins with a great explanation of how the pain networks in our bodies work—a great read for someone in pain, an athlete, a coach or a bodyworker—then the author details various approaches to solving pain, and then zooms in on the modality that has changed her life, mine, and probably everyone who has taken the time to give it a shot. That modality is somatics. Warren gives a thorough explanation of how and why somatics works, the history of its development and then proceeds to discuss specific pain issues—tension headaches, temporal mandibular joint syndrome (TMJ) frozen shoulder, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, to name just a few, and gives links to a set of somatic exercises to relieve and sometimes to eliminate those issues. She then goes on to offer suggestions for how to alter habits that are contributing to these problems, usually related to posture and body mechanics. You cannot read this book or take her classes without becoming more aware of your body and how you use it and that is a key to a much healthier and happier life. The exercises are simple and gentle. The hardest thing about them for me is to resist competing with myself or pushing mself beyond what my body can do at the moment and to not let my mind wander—the way these exercises do their magic is that they reeducate your brain and that can only happen if you are doing the exercises slowly and with full attention. Properly done they become a kind of moving meditation. The book’s explanation of the how and why of pain is worth the price of the book. The links to somatic exercises that target specific body aches is worth the price of the book, times three, and the section on paying attention to how you use your body every day is right up there with eat your greens and ditch the sugar.