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The Younger Next Year Back Book: The Whole-Body Plan to Conquer Back Pain Forever
“A great book for back-pain sufferers and their caregivers alike.”—Todd J. Albert MD, Surgeon-in-Chief and Medical Director, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York
If there’s one lesson to learn from the national bestselling Younger Next Year series, it’s that we can dramatically change our quality of life by taking the right kind of care of ourselves. This is just as true for back pain. Formulated by Dr. Jeremy James—whose practice has cured an astonishing 80% of patients—and #1 bestselling Younger Next Year coauthor Chris Crowley, here is a step-by-step program of simple exercises and behavioral changes that will help readers find a neutral spine, realign their core, learn healthy new ways to move in the world—and virtually eliminate back pain. So follow Jeremy’s rules—like #1. Stop Doing Dumb Stuff, #2. Be Still So You Can Heal, #7. Stand Tall for the Long Hail —and find a lifetime of relief.
If there’s one lesson to learn from the national bestselling Younger Next Year series, it’s that we can dramatically change our quality of life by taking the right kind of care of ourselves. This is just as true for back pain. Formulated by Dr. Jeremy James—whose practice has cured an astonishing 80% of patients—and #1 bestselling Younger Next Year coauthor Chris Crowley, here is a step-by-step program of simple exercises and behavioral changes that will help readers find a neutral spine, realign their core, learn healthy new ways to move in the world—and virtually eliminate back pain. So follow Jeremy’s rules—like #1. Stop Doing Dumb Stuff, #2. Be Still So You Can Heal, #7. Stand Tall for the Long Hail —and find a lifetime of relief.
256 pages, Paperback
First published August 7, 2018
257 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
December 26, 2019
This one was one of the best back books I’ve read. It’s given in an easy to read, easy to understand format. The author studied traditional medicine but instead chose to become a Doctor of Chiropractic Medicine.
He has experienced and treated his own back.
He has experienced and treated his own back.
June 17, 2018
Very informative book of exercises and tips for helping your back. I really liked the tip about what to do it you wake up and it's hard to move due to pain. There's tips on what not to do as well. A great book to help so many people who have back pain. There are several stories of different people with back pain and what helped them. It's definitely time for a Younger Next Year Back Book. I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.
May 11, 2025
This one came across my processing desk right around when my back was acting all twingey and unhappy. I have spondylolysthesis and a compressed lumbar disc, and I've been worrying that said disc is getting ready to blow. So I checked the book out and started reading it that night. And the doctor half of the writing team knows what he's talking about. He acknowledges that this might not help everyone; he tells the reader that they have to do the work; and he admits that "conventional" medicine (read: Western medicine, A.K.A. surgery) isn't a cure-all.
Upon finishing the book, I'm now feeling both reassured – not a herniating disc, probably not even bulging, but a grumpy tiny muscle instead – and doomed: if I don't do these exercises, that disc will probably blow before I turn 35. And let's face it: I'm not exactly good at maintaining long-term life-style changes. But I digress. Neither of these authors is claiming that this book will fix everyone, or that this book is all anyone will ever need ever for a healthy back. Which, IMHO, makes it more persuasive.
And, okay, 4 stars might be coming on a little strong, especially for a non-fiction book. But it's in layman's terms without being condescending, and the guys who wrote it make a lot of sense. Your back hurts because your posture sucks. DUH. Here's how to stop it. I think the one the that I didn't like was the "counterclockwise corkscrew" description for pulling your shoulder blades down your back. WTF does that even mean? And that sounds me to like both shoulder blades should go ...right? which I know is not accurate. I just think of it as down and toward center. Otherwise, I thought it was clear and understandable. So read it. Then do it. Even if your back isn't killing you, an ounce of prevention is... something good. If it doesn't work, what have you lost?
[EDIT 5/10/25:] Just an update that I made it past 35 without blowing that disc! I had a close call last week, but I think it's just a muscle strain. yay? Can't give any credit to the book, though, because I did not lie when I said I'm not good at "maintaining long-term life-style changes," and I never did anything once I returned the book. Oops.
Upon finishing the book, I'm now feeling both reassured – not a herniating disc, probably not even bulging, but a grumpy tiny muscle instead – and doomed: if I don't do these exercises, that disc will probably blow before I turn 35. And let's face it: I'm not exactly good at maintaining long-term life-style changes. But I digress. Neither of these authors is claiming that this book will fix everyone, or that this book is all anyone will ever need ever for a healthy back. Which, IMHO, makes it more persuasive.
And, okay, 4 stars might be coming on a little strong, especially for a non-fiction book. But it's in layman's terms without being condescending, and the guys who wrote it make a lot of sense. Your back hurts because your posture sucks. DUH. Here's how to stop it. I think the one the that I didn't like was the "counterclockwise corkscrew" description for pulling your shoulder blades down your back. WTF does that even mean? And that sounds me to like both shoulder blades should go ...right? which I know is not accurate. I just think of it as down and toward center. Otherwise, I thought it was clear and understandable. So read it. Then do it. Even if your back isn't killing you, an ounce of prevention is... something good. If it doesn't work, what have you lost?
[EDIT 5/10/25:] Just an update that I made it past 35 without blowing that disc! I had a close call last week, but I think it's just a muscle strain. yay? Can't give any credit to the book, though, because I did not lie when I said I'm not good at "maintaining long-term life-style changes," and I never did anything once I returned the book. Oops.
April 13, 2019
I've read a few books on back pain, and this one made the most sense to me as a long-term fix/prevention approach. The exercises re-train your body to move in different ways. If my daily movements repeated over time have caused the damage, then it stands to reason that I would need to move differently to avoid problems in the future. The book seemed overwhelming at first, but once I understood which fundamental exercises are recommended for each day and learned how to do them, it became manageable.
June 8, 2018
This book contains really good information for the lay person on managing back pain. The information and recommended exercises are sound, and despite having read tons of books on this topic, I did learn new things here. I did find the meandering conversational style of Chris a little annoying though, wish it was more crisp. But this didn't detract the educational quality of the book.
March 21, 2019
The Younger Next Year Back Book is part of a series of books on living a healthy lifestyle. The authors collaborate and provide their respective expertise on both the structure of the back and motivational speech.
The book assumes that you picked up this book because of terrible back pain or a complaint in your back. Perhaps you slept wrong, maybe you twisted in some manner that you shouldn’t have. Whatever the reason you attribute it to, the authors argue that it was not that one single event that threw out your back, but a series of lifestyle choices and stupid decisions.
The back is a complicated system made up of the spinal column, the spinal cord, muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and various other bones. It is intricately balanced and specifically designed to help you keep your posture properly. As such, the authors treat the back holistically. This merely means that they treat the back as a whole unit rather than one single muscle or ailment.
The book is written in a charming manner. It provides tons of information on back pain; from the movements that you might be doing wrong to the activities that you should stop doing for the sake of your back. Alongside that are seven rules to follow if you want to avoid back pain. Now, there is a caveat in all of this. When the authors say that they can help you with your pain, they say this knowing that there are some people that are too far gone. They are the 20% or so that need surgery. They might have a herniated disc, a bulging disc, or even a burst disc. For the other 80% it is possible to alleviate your pain, but keep in mind that this is a process. You will have to do movements and exercises that might seem painful at first. You might even have to give up doing some things for a while.
Some of the things it tells you to give up are surprising until you read the reasons why. These are things like Golfing, Yoga, Pilates, and strength training of any variety. The reasons given are interesting. Basically, you learned to do the movements wrong. I never really thought about it, but I suppose a golf swing really does torque your back a lot. Some of the stuff is not so surprising. Sitting for hours at a computer or device is almost obvious. Running I can understand, since the back does take a lot of punishment when you are pounding the pavement, but cycling I didn’t think of as all that bad.
Anyway, this book was really entertaining and informative. It was a quick read and easy to understand. If you have back pain or expect to have it, this book is worth your time.
The book assumes that you picked up this book because of terrible back pain or a complaint in your back. Perhaps you slept wrong, maybe you twisted in some manner that you shouldn’t have. Whatever the reason you attribute it to, the authors argue that it was not that one single event that threw out your back, but a series of lifestyle choices and stupid decisions.
The back is a complicated system made up of the spinal column, the spinal cord, muscles, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and various other bones. It is intricately balanced and specifically designed to help you keep your posture properly. As such, the authors treat the back holistically. This merely means that they treat the back as a whole unit rather than one single muscle or ailment.
The book is written in a charming manner. It provides tons of information on back pain; from the movements that you might be doing wrong to the activities that you should stop doing for the sake of your back. Alongside that are seven rules to follow if you want to avoid back pain. Now, there is a caveat in all of this. When the authors say that they can help you with your pain, they say this knowing that there are some people that are too far gone. They are the 20% or so that need surgery. They might have a herniated disc, a bulging disc, or even a burst disc. For the other 80% it is possible to alleviate your pain, but keep in mind that this is a process. You will have to do movements and exercises that might seem painful at first. You might even have to give up doing some things for a while.
Some of the things it tells you to give up are surprising until you read the reasons why. These are things like Golfing, Yoga, Pilates, and strength training of any variety. The reasons given are interesting. Basically, you learned to do the movements wrong. I never really thought about it, but I suppose a golf swing really does torque your back a lot. Some of the stuff is not so surprising. Sitting for hours at a computer or device is almost obvious. Running I can understand, since the back does take a lot of punishment when you are pounding the pavement, but cycling I didn’t think of as all that bad.
Anyway, this book was really entertaining and informative. It was a quick read and easy to understand. If you have back pain or expect to have it, this book is worth your time.
May 24, 2020
A great follow up to the first Younger Next Year book or Younger Next Year for Women - or a great stand alone - this little book is full of terrific explanations and advice on why our backs hurt so much and how most of us can avoid back surgery with a little bit of daily attention to our backs.
I've had a few trainers and physical therapists over the years, some great, some awful, and in-between. While this book focused much more intensely on the back than work I've done with any of these trainers and all but one of the therapists, much of the advice reflected what the best ones have told me... For instance, 'if it hurts, stop doing it' (sounds smart but the opposite of what one awful therapist told me), and 'machines don't promote whole body stability and balance'.
I love that the exercises are provided with alternatives for people who can't quite do them safely or have outgrown them and need more challenge. I love that there are just a few of them and after a few days, it's easy go through the routine without keeping the book at hand.
The book is highly readable and and a great asset for anyone dealing with back pain.
I've had a few trainers and physical therapists over the years, some great, some awful, and in-between. While this book focused much more intensely on the back than work I've done with any of these trainers and all but one of the therapists, much of the advice reflected what the best ones have told me... For instance, 'if it hurts, stop doing it' (sounds smart but the opposite of what one awful therapist told me), and 'machines don't promote whole body stability and balance'.
I love that the exercises are provided with alternatives for people who can't quite do them safely or have outgrown them and need more challenge. I love that there are just a few of them and after a few days, it's easy go through the routine without keeping the book at hand.
The book is highly readable and and a great asset for anyone dealing with back pain.
July 4, 2018
Back pain can be crippling. The Younger Next Year Back Book seeks to help people with back pain, to give them back their best life by offering tools based in science. The authors promise permanent reduction or even relief from back pain if you follow their advice, of course.
The authors explain what makes up our backs, what can cause our back pain and, what we've all been waiting for, explain how to conquer the pain and relieve it. At the root of their program is behavioural change, we've brought the back pain on us through bad behaviour so changing to a more back-friendly behaviour should help relieve the pain. But behavioural change isn't everything. You will need to do some exercises to strengthen your muscles that help you keep back pain at bay. All necessary exercises - seven, daily - are explained in the book.
The authors explain what makes up our backs, what can cause our back pain and, what we've all been waiting for, explain how to conquer the pain and relieve it. At the root of their program is behavioural change, we've brought the back pain on us through bad behaviour so changing to a more back-friendly behaviour should help relieve the pain. But behavioural change isn't everything. You will need to do some exercises to strengthen your muscles that help you keep back pain at bay. All necessary exercises - seven, daily - are explained in the book.
May 19, 2018
From a person who was involved in two car accidents in one year this book is amazing, I really can't wait to get a hard copy of this book. It is extremely helpful and gives me hope that I will not have to live in pain for the rest of my life. Even at my last chiropractic appointment my doctor asked what I was doing and she said to come back in 6 weeks not one month. She actually said you may not need me forever. I can't say thank you enough for allowing me to review this book. I am going to refer back to this for the rest of my life. I am ready to live my best life from here on out.
March 26, 2018
This version of Younger Next Year focuses on ridding back pain, which happens to be my specialty field as an herbalist. Much of the information suggested to readers is what I prescribe to my clients, and I am quite eager to have a solid printed resource in which to recommend along with my consult. There is no doubt that if one follows the advice given in this book, natural pain relief will be found.
December 11, 2018
I had to give this book 4 stars because the information is so good. If you have back problems, you must read this book!!
However, though I've liked all of the previous YNY books, I found this one to be difficult. I think it's mostly me since reading specific instructions for exercises to be tedious, but, as the book warns, you must pay close attention to every instruction so that you get it right and help yourself. I plowed through and I do the exercises and my back feels great.
However, though I've liked all of the previous YNY books, I found this one to be difficult. I think it's mostly me since reading specific instructions for exercises to be tedious, but, as the book warns, you must pay close attention to every instruction so that you get it right and help yourself. I plowed through and I do the exercises and my back feels great.
October 5, 2018
Back to Normal
It was a very informative book. Got to stop some things I was doing wrong and start doing things the right way. This would be the book to give to the children when growing up. Life starts early. Also it would be great to create an app with the visual exercise routines. Thanks.
It was a very informative book. Got to stop some things I was doing wrong and start doing things the right way. This would be the book to give to the children when growing up. Life starts early. Also it would be great to create an app with the visual exercise routines. Thanks.
January 29, 2021
Good information but insufferable writing
I would recommend this book for the information. I think there is valuable advice and some good exercises in this book.
Outside of that, this book is hard to get through. The author endlessly repeats himself and self-aggrandizes and the overall tone of the book is a patronizing one.
I would recommend this book for the information. I think there is valuable advice and some good exercises in this book.
Outside of that, this book is hard to get through. The author endlessly repeats himself and self-aggrandizes and the overall tone of the book is a patronizing one.
December 24, 2019
Good insight and explanation why surgery
Is not a solution. To sum it up for me.. do yoga every day. Keep moving, learn how to sit and stand and don't sit all day ayway. It's obvious, but a good reminder and the writing makes it easy to read.
Is not a solution. To sum it up for me.. do yoga every day. Keep moving, learn how to sit and stand and don't sit all day ayway. It's obvious, but a good reminder and the writing makes it easy to read.
May 21, 2020
A good plan
I need back pain elimination and Chris and Jeremy gave me a reasonable, logical process by which to make it happen. Now it’s up to me. They are quite convincing, so I’ll give it a try.
I need back pain elimination and Chris and Jeremy gave me a reasonable, logical process by which to make it happen. Now it’s up to me. They are quite convincing, so I’ll give it a try.
July 28, 2018
Great book, that is well written and very informative. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley.
October 26, 2018
The book is practical and most of it is understandable. The exercises would be more understandable if there was a YouTube video link to demonstrate them.
October 29, 2018
Helpful
This book is easy to read, and makes a lot of sense. I hope it will help my back pain over time.
This book is easy to read, and makes a lot of sense. I hope it will help my back pain over time.
November 17, 2018
This is an excellent series. I am much more conscious about how I'm sitting and moving. Hard to do all the exercises recommended.
July 3, 2019
Ok, nothing really to recommend it more than any book on back problems
November 20, 2019
Excellent book explaining a lot of info about causes and treatment of back pain.
August 29, 2020
Now if I can just engage my core all the time and strengthen my back. Life is good. Easy to read and understand.
Read
November 28, 2020They give a 10 minute routine to decrease and prevent back pain, but I'm more likely to actually use something in video form.
May 23, 2021
Great Road Map
I am very knowledgeable about exercising , this book puts it all together and teaches what to do and not do.
I am very knowledgeable about exercising , this book puts it all together and teaches what to do and not do.
July 23, 2021
Great book with lots of useful information in a very easy to understand format.
June 7, 2023
Tough love!
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews