If you are listening to this, it’s likely that you are suffering from chronic, even debilitating pain. Or someone you love is suffering. In either case, you want to find a solution, a way to stop the pain so that life can return to normal. You want to play catch with your grandchild again. Or be able to lift your child into your arms and hug them close. Or play tennis. Or go for a bike ride with your family, go sailing, paint those canvases, play the piano, walk from your house to the car without pain. And you aren’t just suffering physical pain, you’re suffering the emotional pain and fatigue of coping and living a life with limits day after day, hour after hour. And now you are ready to do something to take your life back.

Good. You’ll need that motivation and determination on this journey to living a pain free life. I always tell it like it is to my patients, and I tell you now, this journey is not easy. It’s hard work. But it’s work worth doing. Commit to doing the work that I lay out for you in the following pages. Commit not just for you but for those who love you and don’t want to watch you suffer. Mother Nature has a twisted sense of humor. Our bodies want to find balance or homeostasis, but she didn’t make it easy to achieve.

If you’ve been careless with your body, fed it a poor diet, washed your food down with alcohol, and failed to give it enough rest or exercise, then you have your work cut out for you. And you must take responsibility for that, not just for your physical well-being but for your emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being, too. All these parts of what it means to be human, to be a healthy human, are interconnected and affect and influence each other. Fortunately, the body is resilient. The body can bounce back. This book will help you discover how resilient your body is. And how, if you understand and overcome your pain, you can pursue the life you desire…for yourself and your loved ones. You can do it. Let’s get started.