This is an odd book

This is an odd book. He seems to talk out of both sides of his mouth: he tells you to use good ergonomic habits on one page, and on the next one to change the height of your chair, keyboard, etc., frequently so that you're not always "in the box" that makes everything be at the "right" angle. A good editor might have improved this book substantially.

What's best about this book is the inclusion of a couple of simple exercises that you can do almost anywhere, whenever you have a few minutes. I'd check this one out from the library rather than buying a copy for myself.

I might recommend his plain-vanilla "Pain-Free" book for most people instead.

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Some ok advice; some downright silly commentary

First, nearly every exercise Egoscue includes here has been borrowed or adapted from Yoga -- either from Asanas or restorative poses. He pretty much says so, but he doesn't say the Yogic work is more thorough. He does have some really goofy comments such as there is not benefit from ergonomic computer devices. A good ergonomic keyboard places your wrist flexion at the proper angle, and your fingers are not cramped as with traditional keyboards. Another weird comment is his rationale for why typist in the old days didn't get carpal tunnel. He claims it is because people were stronger then. I don't think so, considering the huge leap in women sports in high school & college. The true reason is because the old typewriters had no place to rest the wrists, a habit nowadays that puts pressure right on the carpal tunnel area. He does make one good common sense observation that the human body was designed to move around and not be constricted, and the less the body is in contact with a chair or any other object for long periods of time, the less stress on the body. All in all, a very skimpy book that could have been a 10 page brochure with a poster sized pull out for the exercises.

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It really works -- but only if you take the time!

Egoscue says that most chronic pain is caused by poor posture and poor body mechanics (e.g., moving wrong). The solution -- a set of stretches that teach you good posture and good body mechanics. These "E-cises" are gentle and easy to perform. They do take a bit of time -- more than an hour for people who use PCs all day -- but the results are amazing. The biggest problem with this book can only addressed by the reader: this advice does you no good unless you lay down and do the E-cises. Don't let the lengthy time daunt you though -- the time required shrinks after a few weeks, and the relief is well worth it. The 5-minute stretches are helpful, too. The reviewers who didn't like this book all sound like they never actually tried the E-cises.

I'd give this book 5-stars, but I must in honesty admit that Egoscue's book "Pain Free" is superior.

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