Essential Resources on Health and Wellness from DiaMedica Publications

The Neck Pain Handbook

Your Guide to Understanding and Treating Neck Pain
Grant Cooper, M.D. and Alex Visco, M.D.

A DiaMedica Guide to Optimum Wellness

Publication Date: April 2009
Price: $14.95
ISBN 13: 978-0-9793564-8-3
Trade Paperback: 128 pages
Size: 6 x 9 inches

The Neck Pain Handbook discusses everything you need to know about neck pain, including its causes, how to treat it yourself, when it’s time to see a doctor, and what your doctor can do to help. Most importantly, it discusses how you can prevent neck pain, so that once your pain is gone, it stays gone.

Neck pain is increasingly common as more of us work in offices that make it unnecessary to move from our computers and desks. Major topics discussed include a discussion of why the neck is one of the most common areas to develop pain as the result of our increasingly immobile lifestyle, and how pain is rooted in the neck’s complex anatomy and function. With this information, it becomes clear why the strategies for dealing with it are recommended. These include:

  • the importance of good posture while sitting, standing, walking, and sleeping;
  • setting up your workplace for optimal comfort and support to prevent injury;
  • a simple and effective 10-minute exercise program for your neck, including stretches and strength training, that will help to take away the pain and keep it from coming back;
  • medical options when improving posture and simple exercises don’t help;
  • a discussion of the symptoms that mean a physician should be consulted; and
  • the approaches that will be used if medical intervention is needed.

In addition, for the 10-20% of people with neck pain that does not respond to conservative therapy, the authors discuss in detail options such as medications, injections, and—rarely needed—surgery.

CONTENTS

I Getting to Know Your Neck
1. Neck Pain: A New Epidemic
2. Learn to Appreciate Your Neck
3. When Good Necks Go Bad

II Taking Care of Your Neck
4. Posture and the Neck Friendly Workplace
5. Do It Yourself: Simple and Effective Exercises for Your Neck
6. When Home Exercise Isn’t Enough: Time to See the Doctor!
7. Prescriptions for Conservative Care

III Medical Solutions
8. Advanced Imaging Studies and Trigger Point Injections
9. Medication for Neck Pain
10. X-Ray-Guided Injections and Surgery

IV Alternative and Complimentary Solutions
11. Supplements
12. Acupuncture and Manual Manipulations
13. Meditation
14. Concluding Thoughts—Putting It All Together

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Grant Cooper, MD is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician who specializes in the non-operative treatment of the neck, spine, joints, and muscles, as well as nerve pain. Dr. Cooper is the co-director of the Princeton Spine and Joint Center in Princeton, NJ. He received his medical degree from UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and his residency and fellowship training at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City.

Dr. Cooper has received national and international recognition for his research and publications, and is currently co-editor-in-chief of Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine. His most recent publication is The Arthritis Handbook (DiaMedica, 2008). He has appeared on ESPN Radio, National Public Radio, and previously hosted his own radio show, “Back Pain Radio” on World Talk Radio. Dr. Cooper is a consultant to Health Central’s Osteoarthritis Center and is on the Medical Advisory Board of the CAN DO Fitness Center.

Alex Visco, MD is a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialist, and the founder and medical director of East Coast Spine, Joint & Sports Medicine in Hoboken, NJ. He specializes in the non-operative care of painful conditions of the spine, joints and muscles, including sports-related injuries. He received his medical degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School, and his residency at The University Hospitals of Columbia and Cornell in New York City.

Praise for The Neck Pain Handbook…

Cooper, co-director of the Princeton Spine and Joint Center, and Visco, medical director of the East Coast Spine, Joint & Sports Medicine, present an enthusiastic and engaging guide to optimum neck health. With illustrations peppering the text, the book emphasizes self-management techniques and open doctor communication as it covers all types of treatment: conventional and non-traditional, surgery, medications and exercises, and even meditation. Verdict: This slender book is focused and informative, featuring up-to-date information on medications and supplements that may alleviate neck pain.” — Library Journal

The Neck Pain Handbook: Your Guide to Understanding and Treating Neck Pain is a guide for those who suffer from chronic neck pain and are considering all of the treatment options possible… Discussing how to prevent it, how to modify how one lives to prevent more discomfort, exercises, and when to consider more serious procedures, DiaMedica delivers another complete and comprehensive guide. The Neck Pain Handbook should be highly considered for those who can’t take their neck’s agony any longer.” — Midwest Book Review

Dr Cooper’s book is easy to read, yet highly informative. Simply put, it helped change my life (and posture). For those who think they have tried every remedy possible for neck/back pain, this book may make a difference for you.” — Amazon *****

This is a clear and concise look at what causes neck pain and how to treat it. The exercises are well-thought out and easy to do. The book also delves into the various treatment options available. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with neck pain—it will help you tremendously!” — Amazon *****

This book is a great introduction to neck pain…. 

The chapter about the neck had some excellent illustrations to help you understand how the neck works. It also had some excellent pictures in following chapters to demonstrate bad posture positions and also examples of simple exercises you can do to alleviate the problem.

This book was a pretty quick read but I felt it was very informative. It has some great exercises, charts, diagrams and photographs and as someone who has suffered from neck and back pain for years it gave me some ideas on how I could treat and possibly prevent some of what I’ve been dealing with.” — Amazon *****

Doctors Cooper and Visco give concise explanations in lay-terms. They provide exercises that can be done anywhere, including the office. The exercises are simple and don’t take much time to do, but they are effective. After several days of doing the exercises I am noticing the difference. The stiffness in my neck is gone and so is my muscle pain.

I’m grateful I came across this book and highly recommend it to anyone that is suffering from neck pain due to poor posture at their work-station and specifically to those that want to prevent any injury. The writing is simple, concise, and in lay-terms. I believe The Neck Pain Handbook can guide you to take care of your body and restore it back to health.” — Reader Views *****

This book is very well written and simple in dealing with the causes and treatments of neck pain. I learned a lot from this book and a lot of the information surprised me. For instance, there are over twenty muscles in the neck. I was drawn to this book because of my profession—I am a 911 Operator and I am forced to be in a sedentary position for eight hour shifts. I can completely relate to neck pain and this book helped me with exercises that I can do when it starts to get stiff.

The book covers more holistic treatments and acupuncture which I found fascinating. Even better were the photos and illustrations for the exercises. I found these particularly helpful and have since been incorporating some of the exercises in my daily regime. All in all, I highly recommend this book for anyone with a more sedentary lifestyle, not just people with chronic neck pain.” — Amazon *****

I have suffered from neck, shoulder, and head pain for many years. I have been given muscle relaxants, painkillers, and steroid shots. I work from home and therefore I sit in front of a computer many hours a day. This leads to a very sedentary lifestyle. As the book pointed out, this is very similar to being bedridden. My muscles just sit there, doing nothing all day. I learned how to exercise and stretch them. And then more importantly, I learned how to adjust my chair and monitor and sit properly. This made all the difference in the world. I can sit and work all afternoon and not even notice a twinge.

The fact that this book is written by two physicians is what clinches it for me. I feel I can trust what it says. Especially after putting it into practice and having it work so well. If you’re a desk jockey as well, I highly recommend this book.” — Amazon *****