Living Without Back Pain

Effectively outlining self-care regimens for mid and lower back pain, neck conditions and headache relief, chiropractic physician Dr. Gene James describes specific problem areas, details the difference between heat and cold therapies and their proper usage, and explains and demonstrates massage therapy and traction (a harness belt with one end attached to your waist or neck--yikes--and the other attached to a door knob whose door swings out--double yikes!). In addition, James illustrates practical exercises (finishing the demonstration with a back flip that he cautions viewers not to try at home), talks about various braces and supports, and discusses techniques for relieving headache pain. While the camerawork was sometimes rather distracting (weird b&w choppy MTV-ish shots seemed out of sync with the tone of the video), what made me most uneasy was the production date (1998, though the box claims 2000). Medical content over three years old scores rather low on my reliability scale, though the solid general information served up here makes this a reasonable optional purchase for those without similar fare. Aud: P. (N. Plympton)