What Does John Sarno Say Causes Back Pain?
Tim Ferriss says Healing Back Pain by John Sarno argues that almost all back pain is psychosomatic. Multiple friends of his were plagued by low back pain and, in some cases, could not walk several blocks. They fully credit Healing Back Pain with fixing them, and he calls the result legitimate.
He knows the book well, knows acolytes of John Sarno, and knows people who had rigorous debates with John Sarno directly. On his reading, the book tells people to resume old activities and treats the problem as an outdated belief system, pointing to pain that moves from location to location. John Sarno goes through mechanical explanations, including ruptured discs and bulging discs, and knocks them off as irrelevant. The dismissal satisfies John Sarno and does not satisfy him.
