This book came to me via a recommendation from my urologist and physical therapist, neither of who have actually read it. I've been dealing with chronic pain for about 20 years, and in that time, I've done a lot to educate myself. As a result, I already knew much of what I found in the book. If the reader has recently been diagnosed and knows little or nothing about pelvic pain, the book could prove to be insightful.The first couple of chapters are excellent. Amy Stein does a good job of explaining what pelvic pain is, which conditions make up pelvic pain syndromes, and how the conditions feed off of each other to create even more problems such as shortened muscle structures, spasms, and pain. It all makes sense, and I've never found such a concise yet comprehensive explanation of this type of pain.
I think it's ambitious, though, to say that following the plan in the book will heal pelvic pain. It might diminish the pain and bring some relief, but healing is something else all together. The exercise plan is made up of exercises I have done for many years, and yet, my pain has never improved. The book claims to include nutritional advice, but it is scant information, at best.
Stein's book relies heavily on exercise as the course to healing, but I know many people who have not found relief this way, myself among them. Reading further and doing some calculating, Stein's plan requires the patient to exercise at least 90 minutes a day in order to get in all of the stretching and strengthening exercises, plus an hour of cardio. Frankly, I don't believe that is realistic. Do people with normal lives really have 90 minutes or more for daily exercise, plus an additional 30 minutes or more for meditation? Don't they work or have families?
With the exception of the helpful information in the first two chapters, a lot of the non-exercise related information is very general and superficial in scope. As for the exercise chapters, you could benefit just as much from exercising with a yoga DVD of the gentle/restorative or pregnancy genre.
The good news for many men and women suffering from pelvic pain is that this book can help. The bad news is that this is not a quick fix. If you follow the author's routine for stretching, exercise, and massage you will spend about 2-3 hours a day on it. I'm about a month into the routine, and while I do feel it takes too much of my day, I AM beginning to see results. I expect to be in this for the long haul (6 months to a year) before the pain is gone completely.
The regimen works. The question is, how badly do you want to get better? I just decided that Amy's regimen was going to be my new "hobby". Since I usually spend about 2 hours a day on various other hobbies, it was easy for me to find the time. If you have a lot of other hobbies you are not willing to give up, Amy's regimen may be too time demanding for you.
Amy's stretching routine takes most of the time, but I feel the stretching is the key to recovery.......at least for me. Amy's regimen is designed to stretch and strengthen all of the muscles groups in the pelvic floor, and her illustrations are easy to follow. Something I felt my physical therapist did not cover very well.
This is a great read, and (for many of you) will be the key to eliminating your pelvic pain symptoms. Highly recommended!I am an obgyn doc and treat a great deal of pelvic pain. I am now suggesting this book for my patients. I find it difficult to have the time to provide all this material to patients and at times my words may not resonate with them. Ms. Stein has a nice way of providing the information such that it is clearly understood and encourages the patient to own the pain and gives them a way of constructively doing so.
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