Once the MANEUVERS are presented, it is suggested that
the reader download or print them for a working copy.
Most non-medically educated persons might instantly
be bewildered by alot of new terms and concepts. Do
not be intimidated by the implied complexity of this
information nor act under the assumption that its concepts
will require too much new learning in the absence of
a guarantee for absolute benefit. The O'Connor Technique
(tm) is really not that difficult to understand;
and, after taking the TEST YOURSELF test and
performing THE O'CONNOR TEST, if it sounds like
yours is the type of pain being described, you shouldn't
mind the inconvenience of learning something new because
your probability of benefiting is so high. Nevertheless,
this concern is addressed by providing the reader
with the ability to read and download all of the material
available in the book. Most of the unique concepts can
be found in the PRINCIPLES section and the section
that elaborates on anatomical terminology (SPINAL
ANATOMY). These sections, too, can be read, printed
or downloaded for future repeated reference.
It is anticipated that the browser, upon reaching the
REGISTRATION page, might be reluctant to spend
the money to purchase something "sight-unseen."
I understand that hesitation; so, if this concern befalls
you, I would encourage you to read the INTRODUCTION
in its entirety as well as the other "free"
components of the "webbook." Doing that, you
should be convinced that this information is potentially
of extreme value to you personally and be willing to
take the chance. By comparison, the cost to obtain this
information is equivalent to the price of a pre-schooler's
talking book. If you can't spend that amount on yourself
in hopes of relieving an otherwise perpetual pain problem,
then you are selling yourself short.
Even for the "normal" back, this information
can be of immense value in keeping it that way. Barring
some unforseen accident, anyone fore-armed with the
knowledge of the spinal mechanical principles put forth
in this website can expect to never suffer from back
pain. However, if your back was normal you wouldn't
have sought out this website in the first place; yet
that does not limit the back pain sufferer who wishes
to prevent the same fate from befalling their children
or loved ones from passing this information on in a
preventative manner. So, in the broadest sense, this
information is potentially beneficial for everyone.
Nevertheless, if you have proceeded this far, you can
safely operate under the assumption that the probabilities
are decidedly in favor of your pain and stiffness being
relieved.
Despite this webbook's length, The O'Connor Technique
(tm) does not purport to be a cure-all for all forms
of back pain, nor does this website describe all the
information I have acquired or that is available on
spinal pain. Such would be beyond its scope and my intent,
not to mention making a dry subject even more exhaustive
and tiresome. Let's face it, back pain literature doesn't
lend itself to enjoyable reading. Too, it is not intended
to be the final word or an all-encompassing academic
and research-oriented treatise on the spine. There are
other medical textbooks that cover the general subject
of back pain more fully and several back pain books
available for non-medical people that lead the reader
to believe that they provide such a service. None of
them contain the presentation you will read herein.
This webbook was designed to provide a simple, yet
competent description of what has previously been regarded
as a mysteriously complex problem. When understood,
any reader of average intelligence should be able to
perform this physically manipulative method, on themselves,
to improve their own back pain. These physical manipulations
are called "MANEUVERS" because that is the
classic term used in Western medicine to describe any
intentionally planned movement which represents an alteration
of human anatomical position.
The length of the book/website relative to how much
you actually must read is misleading. A person can realistically
satisfy their own necessity by reading only a relatively
small portion. You may be relieved to know that much
of the actual instructions in this website (the MANEUVER
sections) are dedicated to specific regions of the spine
that are painful for one set of patients yet are probably
normal in others. If a reader's particular pain is located
in the low back, that should be the area of pertinence
that the individual need focus on, to the exclusion
of the exhaustive descriptions of how to perform MANEUVERS
on other regions of the spine. After all, if you don't
have neck or thoracic pain, pouring over those areas'
details is not an efficient use of time.
The extent of MANEUVER directions mostly satisfies
my need to provide as maximally accurate a description
as feasible of what movements and positions the reader
needs to accomplish with precision; so, it is often
repetitive. This is intentional. It was not meant to
be read like a novel; and no one is expected to read
every part, unless they have pain in every region of
their spine.
Additionally, if you find one MANEUVER is successful,
you needn't learn all the other MANEUVERS dedicated
to the same spinal region unless you wish to increase
your armamentarium. Many patients of mine are satisfied
with simply learning one MANEUVER because their back
pain events are so few and far between. Others, whose
pain episodes are frequent or whose discs are particularly
damaged need to learn a repertoire of MANEUVERS for
"all occasions." If, after performing the
first MANEUVER in the particular series proves unsuccessful
or you wish to expand your ability to manage more frequent
events in different settings and different manners,
then it is recommended that you should learn more.
Feel free to skip through sections of the webbook.
Simply because the most important Sections, the "MANEUVERS"
Sections, fall in a particular order, do not feel that
you have to read the website/book like a mathematics
course from start to finish. If you have only Low Back
(Lumbar) pain, you need not enter the Thoracic and Cervical
Sections. In fact, if you follow the links, you will
be directed there preferentially. If your pain is located
only in the low back and you are reading the webbook
like a conventional book, you can feel free to go directly
to the Chapter referencing LUMBAR (LOW BACK) PAIN MANEUVERS
after the PRINCIPLES Section; and, if you choose, simply
elect to try a MANEUVER pertinent to your particular
condition immediately as your first action. If it works
for you and relieves your back pain, then that technique
may be the limited extent to which you wish to engage
spinal pain mechanics and all you really need. However,
I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the relevant
PRINCIPLES, first, so you know why you are performing
the movements. If you are unfamiliar with the anatomy
or nomenclature used in this work, you can freely access
or return to the section on PHYSICAL REALITY to become
educated in those concepts.
For ease of use in this "webbook", an IMAGE
MAP was created to direct the user to the most appropriate
types of MANEUVERS based upon the reader's pain location.
By pointing and clicking the site that most closely
correlates with the pain, the user is automatically
directed to the relevant MANEUVERS. However, you must
first register before being allowed access to these
and other important regions of the website.
The first MANEUVER of each section was placed at the
beginning due to its intrinsic ease balanced against
successfulness. For neck pain, one can go directly to
the section dedicated to CERVICAL (NECK) PAIN MANEUVERS
and do the first neck MANEUVER. For pain in the Thoracic
region related to the back, go to the section on THORACIC
(CHEST) PAIN MANEUVERS. If relief is instantaneous and
you are satisfied with that, you needn't pour through
the whole treatise. If you can do the MANEUVER effectively,
you needn't bother with all the theory, mechanics, or
anatomy unless you wish to gain a deeper insight into
your back pain and the reason why the MANEUVER worked.
As expected, if you are unfamiliar with some of the
terms you encounter, you can always back up to the Sections
in the website that cover those topics. I wrote it in
a manner that accommodates that style of reading, assuming
that if I relied upon the reader's mastery of the antecedent
nomenclature too heavily the practical value of the
work would be lost to the average, non-physician, reader.
By reading the section of the website dedicated to
the PRINCIPLES common to various MANEUVER actions, you
will understand what is happening during the MANEUVERS
and better understand the actions relative to what is
happening to your back when you make certain specific
movements. However, it is not absolutely necessary that
you understand them, you can still perform the MANEUVERS
without this underlying justification. Largely, the
supportive information is provided for those readers
who are assisted by theoretical concepts and logical
understandings during the learning process.
Too, assuming that the reader's time is valuable, an
efficient, time-and-effort conserving means was provided
to give the reader an opportunity to determine whether
they want to expend the effort to read the whole work.
You may think that it is too much of an inconvenience
to read a book attempting to teach you something that
appears so complicated that you may never understand
it; but you shouldn't feel intimidated. It really is
not all that complicated; and it was designed to be
as understandable and readable as possible for lay persons.
If some of the MANEUVERS seem overly complex at first,
go slow and pay attention to the pictures. For the descriptive
text, it may help to have someone read it to you while
you go through the motions. Of course, this should be
someone who legitimately cares about your welfare or
has a vested interest in "making your bad back
better."
Rest assured, it probably will not be necessary for
you to attempt to master all or a majority of the MANEUVERS,
although it is recommended that one read the entire
MANEUVER description before attempting it. One MANEUVER
usually does the trick if it is the right one for your
particular problem. Chances are that the first MANEUVER
in the section that concerns you will work; however,
if one doesn't work, you can try the next. Similarly,
if you can't perform one MANEUVER for some reason, there
are multiple other options given. No expensive devices
are needed.
I understand the necessity for this strategy because
I got a dose of reality when one patient I had wasn't
getting relief despite my repetitive description of
MANEUVERS designed for a bed or couch. Despite being
well-dressed, urbane, and articulate, it turned out
that he had lost all his furniture when he had to quit
work due to his back injury; but was too embarrassed
to reveal his new level of poverty. As I instructed
him in one MANEUVER he could do on the floor, an audible
movement of the disc material was heard, he obtained
instant relief during the demonstration, and left the
office tearfully joyous and grateful.
In designing this website, I felt compelled to give
as much a reason for why the method works as I was to
teach the reader how to make it work; but that doesn't
mean you have to know or memorize it. If the reasoning
why this method works and the anatomical nomenclature
is not of interest to you and all you care about is
"the bottom line," you can elect to pass over
the majority of the beginning chapters of this website.
If you later run into something you don't understand,
you can go back to the section in the website that deals
with that subject and acquire whatever information you
need to understand the process. There is usually a chapter
heading for every concept with which the average person
can be assumed to be unfamiliar.
In practical application, when I have a patient in
pain, I usually give a brief description of the injury,
pain, and resolution mechanism, then I teach them how
to do the most appropriate MANEUVER. Usually that is
sufficient, and it only takes me about thirty minutes
to educate them in how they can get themselves out of
pain. They do not need to be articulately educated as
to the anatomy and physiology of disc units to understand
how to solve their problem.
Just as my patients with low back pain needn't learn
about the neck, it is inefficient to spend the time
teaching them those MANEUVERS or waxing poetic on the
supportive theory and mechanics. However, if you have
the time and penchant, learning a little extra never
hurt anyone. By gently trying a MANEUVER intended for
another not particularly painful region of the spine,
you may find a stiffness relieved that has been present
so long that it no longer is recognized by the mind
as a problem, yet when the MANEUVER is accomplished,
you may recognize a new, more comfortable, feeling and
an increased range of motion that you never realized
you had previously lost. Among other things, this website
does serve as an excellent USER'S MANUAL FOR THE SPINE.
If you are experiencing back pain for the first time
or are in a particularly painful period, it would behoove
you to go directly to the section on ACUTE PAIN MANAGEMENT
STRATEGY in the ANCILLARY TOPICS CHAPTER for the immediate
management of a back injury or acute exacerbation of
pain.
Performing these MANEUVERS is in no way dangerous nor
inappropriate for a normal, non-painful, disc or spine.
There also exists a rational understanding encompassing
the damaged spine that, if your spine is so damaged
that it cannot do simple, non-forceful MANEUVER-type
movements that would reasonably be expected to be accomplished
in a normal lifestyle, then you would probably be harmed
anyway or caused to have surgery when you unconsciously
made equivalent movements during your activities of
daily living. Nevertheless, a DISCLAIMER is incorporated
so that it is made clear at the outset, before any money
changes hands, that the user/reader must assume all
liability and risk for practicing the techniques.
There is an advantage to understanding and applying
all the concepts in this website. You can expect to
become a "back pain mini-expert" in your own
right. You may be able to "play doctor" by
introducing others to the information, or do parlor
tricks and be the "life of the party." Above
all, don't part with this information once you are out
of pain. There is an almost certain probability you
will need it again in the future. Even if only your
low back is a problem, there is also a very high probability
that you will eventually have disc pain return later
(long after you have forgotten the MANEUVER directions)
or develop it at other regions of the spine. In that
event, you can turn to those particular MANEUVERS for
relief and understand why I included them all in the
same website/book.
IF YOUR PARTICULAR PAIN IS NOT HELPED BY THE O'CONNOR
TECHNIQUE (TM) OR IF INDEED IT IS AGGRAVATED OR THE
PAIN IS INCREASED, BY ALL MEANS, STOP PERFORMING THE
MANEUVERS OR ACTING UPON THE ASSUMPTION THAT YOUR INDIVIDUAL
BACK PAIN ORIGINATES FROM A SOURCE THAT IS REMEDIABLE
FROM THE INFORMATION IN THIS WEBSITE.
This website is designed to help the majority of back
pain sufferers; it cannot hope to help everyone. In
the event that your pain is worsened, be certain to
seek medical consultation. If you have any doubt, even
before engaging in any exercise program, consult with
your own physician. He/she may understand something
about your particular problem that would require a modification
or discontinuance of the method.
OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE, DON'T
CONTINUE DOING ANYTHING THAT INCREASES PAIN. The old
adage "no pain--no gain" or the demand that
one "work through the pain" not only makes
no sense but can result in serious injury if taken to
the extreme. TO REDUCE THE POSSIBILITY OF DOING FURTHER
DAMAGE TO YOUR ALREADY DAMAGED SPINE, ESPECIALLY IF
YOU HAVE SUSTAINED A SIGNIFICANT INJURY OR HAVE SYMPTOMS
THAT RESULT IN WEAKNESS IN THE UPPER OR LOWER EXTREMITIES
OR A SEVERE, BURNING, OR ELECTRICAL-LIKE PAIN THAT SHOOTS
DOWN THE LEGS OR ARMS, GO TO A DOCTOR, GET AN EXAMINATION,
AND HAVE HIM/HER GIVE AN OPINION AS TO WHETHER MOBILIZATION
OR EXERCISE IS SAFE OR NOT. YOU MAY BE EXPERIENCING
RADICULAR PAIN FROM A NERVE THAT IS BEING TRAPPED BY
A PROTRUDING PIECE OF DISC MATERIAL.
The most accurate means to assure that exercise is
safe is by obtaining an NMRI (Nuclear Mass Resonance
Image) to determine if the disc material has escaped
the disc's capsule and is impinging upon a nerve. If
such is the case, performing any movement, including
the MANEUVERS elaborated in this website, has a potential
probability of not working; and the activity may theoretically
be equated with the induction of further harm. Unfortunately,
an NMRI costs over $1000. In lieu of sustaining that
economic burden, you can acquire the clinical experience
engendered in this website which will give you the prerequisite
knowledge necessary to diagnose and treat yourself.
If the MANEUVERS are done correctly as described, there
is little or no opportunity to cause additional harm
because the forces generated are not greater than those
which are generated in predictable normal activity anyway.
Common sense also comes into play here. IF SOMETHING
HURTS MORE WHEN YOU DO IT--YOU STOP. The MANEUVERS taught
in this website should only change the character of
the pain, not substantially increase it. Any marked
increase in severity of pain requires further diagnostic
exploration before proceeding.
Don't get anxious or immobilized by fear. When I speak
of the fear, I suspect that in most instances it emanates
from fear of increasing the pain and/or fearing that
through incompetence you will make it worse. Addressing
the first concern, you need not fear increasing the
pain because this is not some entity that you have to
rise up and confront with an all-or-none throw of the
dice. With The O'Connor Technique (tm), you are able
to try a certain movement, test it to see if it causes
a problem, if no harm is done, you can go on and test
it further with little increments at a time to reassure
yourself that no greater pain will be experienced.
Many people legitimately fear that they will be caused
pain for no certain benefit. It is this attitude that
keeps people from participating in everything from chiropractic
to the best state of the art University level medical
care--FEAR OF PAIN. There is no reason to look upon
this method in that light. You can gradually approach
this method with non-forced trials and ease into it
without any fear that you will "go too far"
and hurt yourself.
This brings us to the second concern: fear that, through
not knowing what you are doing, you might end up hurting
yourself more. Dispel that fear with your intellect.
Too many people today are programmed to believe that
they are incompetent to make decisions or take actions
related to their own bodies and health. Just as many
people make decisions that are not based upon knowledge
but upon faith. This website neither asks nor expects
you to do either. It only encourages you to understand
your fear and overcome it by your own individual scientific
method. You test a particular movement, if it hurts--you
stop. You substitute your anxiety with the testing of
hypotheses. You will ultimately decide if it is safe
and effective by your outcome.
All things considered, the spine is a pretty tough
structure. It takes substantial forces to truly damage
an intact spine. It is unreasonable to believe that
you would come to any greater harm by gently trying
a few movements you probably would have made anyway
during the course of your future. So, it makes better
sense to try the movements in a controlled atmosphere
wherein you can easily modify any circumstance that
would otherwise be capable of causing you harm.
The opportunity for being helped dramatically with
The O'Connor Technique (tm) is so great that
it is worth taking an exceptionally small risk, if one
exists at all, especially when you consider that, if
the damage to the back is already so severe as to be
increased through these non-traumatic MANEUVERS, you
most likely would have to resort to surgery regardless
of what you did or didn't do. It is highly unlikely
that you are going to break anything unless it is already
too broken to make much of a difference in the overall
outcome . The vast numbers and percentage of people
who, over the years, have reassured me that the method
works in the absence of any damage attributable to this
method, encourages me to relegate the possibility of
further damage to the realm of the theoretical. I mention
the remote possibility of further harm not only for
completeness sake, but to legally protect myself in
these litigious times. I considered not publishing this
information out of fear that someone will be harmed
and attribute the damages to me in a lawsuit. However,
the amount of benefit far overshadows any perceived
risk of harm; and to not publish would lead to much
more suffering.
Admittedly, like any other aspect of life, employing
The O'Connor Technique (tm) is not without risk.
So is getting out of bed, swinging with your head upside
down on a swing, or riding an amusement park ride. We
do not live in a perfect world. Of course, doing the
MANEUVERS haphazardly, too rapidly, or attempting to
violently manipulate a damaged disc could result in
further damage.
There are obscure anatomical conditions that may make
this method unsuccessful and even problematic for some
individuals. Sometimes a person, especially if elderly,
can be caused to pass out when their neck is stretched.This
is probably related to the tension placed on the vertebral
arteries that pass through the first cervical vertebrae.(2)
So, there are an exceedingly small number of persons
who may get light-headed when they attempt the method
on their necks. Of course, the solution is to stop doing
it if light-headedness occurs. It's common sense--if
a particular MANEUVER or position described in this
website causes a problem, don't do it.
Also, there are a certain very low percentage of people
in the population born with separations in the bridge-like
bones that connect the front portion of the vertebral
bones with the back portion called spondylolisthesis
or spondylolysis. This method may not help their back
pain and could aggravate it.
I have no illusions that this particular method of
back pain management will help everyone because there
are an assortment of back pain causes that will probably
not be helped by this method. There are various musculoskeletal
conditions to which anyone can fall prey such as Spinal
Stenosis (a condition where scars or bony growths close
in the canal where the spinal cord or nerves travel),
Sacro-ileitis (an inflammatory condition of the joint
between the pelvic bone and the sacrum), Ankylosing
Spondylitis (an arthritic condition that fuses the vertebral
bones), Good old fashioned arthritis (Osteoarthritis)
of any source, Bursitis, Myositis (muscle inflammation),
Tendinitis (Inflammation of Tendons that join muscles
to bones), Fibrositis or Fibromyalgia (an inflammatory
condition that affects soft tissues surrounding and
between muscles accompanied by fatigue, muscle aches,
and morning stiffness), and last but not least--Fractures.
All of the above could mistakenly be confused with
disc herniation disease; however, most of these pains
are routinely handled by the medicines you will be taking
for inflammation anyway so they, too, will serendipitously
be helped by the complete method I describe. But don't
let the sheer number of these conditions scare you into
believing that a major undertaking will be necessary
to figure out which one you have. By far and away, the
most common source of back pain and the highest percentage
of it is caused by herniated disc disease. Just because
a whole panoply of conditions can cause back pain, that
doesn't change the reality that most probably you are
dealing with a herniated disc condition by virtue of
the preponderant statistical probabilities.
There are other conditions that are the uncommon causes
of pain that appear to be spinal in nature but are not
true spinal pain. They don't relate to musculo-skeletal
causes but fall into a separate category both due to
their rareness and not really being associated with
spinal tissue, per se. A partial list includes: Abdominal
Aortic Aneurysm (a breaking down and expansion of the
largest artery in the abdomen), Kidney Stones, Kidney
infections, Inflammation of the Pancreas, Stomach Ulcers,
Infections of the Uterus or fallopian tubes, Ectopic
Pregnancy, Prostate Inflammations, Pleural Effusions
(Fluid in the Lung Spaces), Colon Obstructions, Tumors
or Cancers of the bone or tissues contiguous with the
back. So uncommon are they, that I can't recall being
fooled making these diagnoses in the past 10 years despite
thousands of patients. In most cases, these diagnoses
are so readily obvious to me, that I think most people
with common sense, when they consider the absence of
and presence of other associated symptoms, will figure
out for themselves that the pain doesn't really originate
in the spine.
In fact, the pain they cause is so different and readily
distinguishable from disk pain (by both non-affirmative
answers to the TEST given at the start of this website
and by the method I describe under the heading of "DIAGNOSING
YOUR OWN DISC") that the distinction is usually
obvious. I can even go one step further to say that
if you don't get relief from The O'Connor Technique
(tm) then you may reasonably suspect that the pain is
from some other source and go searching for an exact
diagnosis through the usual and customary medical channels.
However, again, the majority of spinal pain originates
from disc related causes so don't assume that your best
bet is to just let a doctor manage it. Read this website
and practice the techniques, if they don't work, you
can, therefore, reasonably rule out mechanically treatable
disc disease; and, then, the application of other diagnostic
modalities and expensive imaging studies are more likely
to be cost-effective and productive.
On the other side of the coin, oftentimes doctors make
diagnoses that attribute the pain to muscle strain,
arthritis, ligament tears, etc. when in reality a herniated
disc is really the ultimate source. Too, a herniated
disc can cause muscle spasm and the doctor is not technically
wrong when making the diagnosis of muscle spasm. However,
frequently, the underlying origin of the problem is
the disc and until that mechanical pain is solved, little
or no relief can be expected. The practical message
here is that even if you have been given an alternative,
inadequate, diagnosis, in my experience, you still could
probably be suffering from a herniated disc. In light
of that reality, trying The O'Connor Technique (tm)
can provide the relief you seek in spite of a previously
made, incorrect, diagnosis .
Far too many of the patients who come to me already
have other diagnoses yet, in reality, have disc disease
as the source of pain. I prove that contention by "fixing"
them right then and there in the office, but rarely
do they go back to the previous doctor to educate him/her.
This website and these MANEUVERS are directed to the
majority of intervertebral disc pain sufferers who's
damage is not so extensive as to require immediate surgery
or so degenerated as to not have any functional disc
remaining. In fact, once a person has been examined
by a doctor and surgery is ruled out, there is little
other hope for reduction of mechanical pain except by
mechanical solutions. This website provides those mechanical
solutions.
Once you have mastered the mechanical solutions, you
may, at first, as I found necessary, have to use them
on a constantly repetitive basis to get out of pain;
but that small inconvenience is vastly preferable to
constant pain. With time, however, you most likely will
discover that you require exercising the pain-stopping
MANEUVERS less and less. In my case, unless I "over
do it" by too much lifting or sports, I only occasionally
have to perform the MANEUVERS to stop the pain. Over
the last several years, my Lumbar disc pain has drastically
been reduced in frequency and severity. It is my assumption
and belief that my spine has responded to the intentional
alterations in movement and mechanical forces by re-molding
into a more stable and pain-free configuration. I suspect
my autopsy will be the only means of proving that contention--a
prospect that my inevitable critics will relish.
Lastly, I feel the need to explain that the illustrations
in this website/book are not always intended to be anatomically
exact representations of human tissues or bio-mechanical
actions. As the reader will learn, a few millimeters
of distance at the level of the disc can mean the difference
between pain and non-pain. The whole spinal disc unit
is so small that it can be easily grasped in the palm
of the hand. It is very difficult to represent comparisons
between diagrams that differ only by a few millimeters
of change. Therefore, some exaggeration of anatomy (especially
distance and angles) is often necessary to convey an
adequate understanding of the physical properties being
discussed. I accept that knowledgeable medical professionals
may be critical of these anatomical representations;
but the book /website was not predominately designed
for their use.
The bulk of the illustrations were drawn by myself,
in part because these are new concepts that have never
before been represented and the time and cost of employing
a medical illustrator to give physical form to my concepts
would have been prohibitive. The truth will out, I am
not a world class artist; however, it is my opinion
that it is more important to get the idea across rather
than to stand on anatomical exactitude. However, this
revelation by no means implies that the drawings do
not accurately reflect physical reality because they,
to the best of my understanding and ability, are intended
to do as great a service to reality as to the readers'
back pain.
IF YOU WISH TO CONTINUE, I RECOMMEND THAT YOU TAKE
THE TESTS TO DETERMINE IF YOUR BACK PAIN MOST LIKELY
ORIGINATES IN DISC DISEASE. TO GO TO THE SECTION WHERE
YOU CAN TEST YOURSELF , CLICK
HERE.
