Walk Yourself Well: Eliminate Back, Neck, Shoulder, Knee, Hip, and Other Structural Pain Forever - Without Surgury or Drugs

I found the information in this book exciting, compelling and read it through from cover to cover. Finally someone's talking about feet! As a former dancer and current teacher..I see a lot of mean treatment to the feet. Many of my personal concerns, hunches and observations were articulated. I am adding book to my library and recommended reading list. I especially liked the way the author addressed and offered corrective measures for heel to floor contact. My own feet have suffered under my abuse in breaks, strains, burns and other mean injuries and I can tell you...doctors offer little in the way of truly useful information. Just a shot, a pill, a cast, a knife...it's terrible and frustrating. I think we would be better served with this information in our elementary classrooms than having to memorize all the former president's birthdays and names!!! It's no fun hurting and many of our hurts happen when we lack information and mishandle our bodies. Some reviewers found her stories and writing style lacking..yes her verbage is at times goofy. Her reference to "buns" had me doing a couple of double takes to make sure I wasn't seeing things... I personally liked the simplicity of the pictures/drawings. I would have enjoyed more..to demonstrate proper and improper form. A video/dvd would be a great addition to this book to help us audio/visual learners. I checked this book out from the library and have ordered my own copy. This information is highly useful for any dance, movement or fitness coach as well as anyone who is sick of putting their well being into the hands of others! This book is a keeper.

I have spent the last five years in agony with a bad ankle. For some strange reason that I didn't understand at that time,(and neither did the two surgeons, one rhematologist, two podiatrists, four physical therapists and countless er docs with whom I consulted over the last thirty years), as I was doing my regular areobic work, I totally ruptured the peroneal longus tendon in my right foot. Two surgeries later I was left with a chronically swollen ankle. I had lost the tendon and the peroneal nerve. I had total ankle reconstruction and had my heel bone moved over so my ankle would be more stable. It wasn't. Fast forward three years. The pain had increased and moved up into my back and hips. It was horrible. I couldn't sleep. My foot doc said, you will have to learn to live with it. I had an MRI. I had bulging discs in L1-2, 2-3 and 3-4. The 2-3 was pressing on the spinal cord. I was losing feeling and strength in my hips and legs despite doing all the weight lifting and cardio I could handle, about 90 minutes a day x 6 days a week.I researched why this would happen. I had a gradual onset of the back issue and couldn't remember a specific incidence of over doing or strain. The title of this book popped up in reply to an internet search I did on the L2-3 disk bulge, so I ordered it. I had gone to see an osteopath for help with the back issue and was in physical therapy for it. My pt noticed that during exercises my ankle bowed out. She said, "That's the problem." I went home to find this book had come. I read it in two days and immediately began to do the work recommended. I took the book to the osteopath who agreed with the pt. That was about two weeks ago. I am now totally pain free for the first time in five years, and without pain meds. Not only are my right ankle, leg, hips and back good, but my left shoulder which also hurt most of the time no longer hurts. It seems that due to my gait my ankles roll to the outside with every step. This resulted in atrophied ankle muscles, which meant more weakness. Finally my tendon blew. And then my spine. Thanks to the information this author presents in a humorous fashion I have finally accepted the cause for my problems and am working on relearning to walk. It isn't all that easy, but then it isn't impossible either, given the other choice. A number of members of my family have the same gait pattern. My father and older brother have both had horrific ankle problems, no one knew why. They both have had back surgery, and both have lost the L2-3 disc. Again, no one knew why. I have two sons in their twenties who walk like me and who have had ankle problems and back pain since their late teens. I am buying copies of this book for them. Using this book could be difficult for those without an open mind. The author's use of humour and stories of her patients helped me to recognize and accept my problem. I think we sometimes take life way too seriously, and that makes pai

By following the principles in this book, I'm quite sure I have minimized the pain and discomfort of two leg injuries within a year, both requiring a cast - broken ankle requiring surgery and hairline knee fracture, as well as an arthritic hip, all on the same leg. Although I found the technical explanations tough going, I believe I distilled the essence of the instruction into a brand new, better way to walk. I walk my dog twice a day so I slowly incorporated one aspect at a time into changing my walk. There is no doubt that my leg muscles are stronger as a result of my redesigned walk. The book leaves no stone unturned with respect to its topic, so I am quite thankful that I discovered this A to Z instructional reference book.

I applaud the author for blazing this trail to "structurally sound walking principles"! She explains in detail how to diagnose your faulty gait, which strengthening and stretching exercises (with illus.) will correct your particular weakness, and offers a simple example how to chart your progress. I appreciated the text inside boxes providing more technical explanations concerning specific muscles... I was able to correct a few structural postures immediately, and I'm very glad to be aware of these principles, especially since I'm into fitness walking. Now I have information which is attending to those nagging knee, hip, and back pains.

"Walk Yourself Well" is one of the few books which actually changed my life. A ground-breaking approach to perfect and healthful posture and gait, Ms. Brourman's thorough, clear instructions helped me change my walk and posture to "elegant" and freed me from persistent knee and neck pain.This book is perfect for boomers who want to avoid those horrors of aging - the dowager's hump, the old folks' shuffle, and back, neck, shoulder, foot, and knee pain - and surgery.It's never too early, or too late, to enjoy the benefits of Miss Brourman's 25 years of experience as a physical therapist. I predict that "Walk Yourself Well" will become a classic in its field.