Where It Hurts and Why: How to Gain Control of Your Pain

As a personal trainer I have worked with a variety of clientele: from a 67 year old retired teacher to 16 year old high school athletes. I have learned that no matter what the age or activity level, people have aches and pains and I don't always know the cause, but I do know the last thing I want my clients doing is numbing the symptoms with pills or going into surgery. After reading Where it Hurts and Why I was armed with a wealth of simple techniques to improve my clients quality of life and eliminate pain without extreme measures. The information in this book was presented in a fun, easy to understand way that made it a pleasure to read (unlike the many textbook style personal training books I have encountered). I recommend everyone add this book to their personal library!

Having grown up as an active, outdoor kid, I was accustomed to having skint knees, elbows, sore muscles, etc. Running in high school and college most of my pain was in my knees... I just thought it was part of running. What I chalked up as 'Normal', was in fact, preventable. My knees always hurt on the outside of the knee joint...not from the impact, but because of the natural movement of the knee. Years later, I found out that it was my Illio-Tibial bands and they were screaming tight...causing the knee pain. Now, if you know what the IT bands are, you are already ahead of the game....but if you want to win the game, you need this book! It clearly outlines and demonstrates a simple protocol to cure the pain yourself. With just a few days of patience and practice, you too can be pain free. If you are at wits end about your pain, do yourself a favor ... buy this book.

I have one of those jobs that require long hours in front of a computer, clicking away on a keyboard and a mouse. It wasn't long before I experienced sharp pains throughout my forearms and wrists that made work painful and even interrupted my sleep. Like many, I thought I was developing carpal tunnel. To my surprise, surgery was far from what I needed. I needed Chapter 6 of Where It Hurts and Why (Pain in the Arm, Wrist and Hand)!! After doing the recommended stretches twice a day for one week (only one week!) my pain disappeared. In this digital age I know there are others out there experiencing wrist pain from this type of work. I recommend highly this book to alleviate the pain using simple and effective stretching and strengthening techniques.

"Where It Hurts and Why" is a must read for all physically active individuals and all health care practioners. Sehgal and Ortloff manage, in a mere 198 pages, to offer an amazingly comprehensive and well-rounded approach to gaining control of pain. The wisdom and information contained in these pages is both priceless and practical. The illustrations and instructions for exercises are clear and concise. Kudos to the authors and to Aaron Mattes whose work they build on. A great reference book to keep on hand.

This is a complete book that demonstrates stretching, strengthening and self-massage for sore and painful body parts. Chapters 3-9 are dedicated to separate areas of the body that allow the reader to go right to THEIR OWN specific concerns and immediately begin to understand what to do about them. Superb illustrations and excellent instructions direct the reader on very effective protocols along with what the authors call "recipes" for maintaining good integrity in the different regions. As a Nationally Certified Personal Trainer, I specialize in Active Isolated Stretching and Strengthening and wholeheartedly recommend this book as a must for all my clients. Together with Aaron Mattes upper and lower body stretching charts and an 8 foot rope anyone can get great results.