| Pages: | 352 pages |
| Size: | 6 x 9 inch |
| Publisher: | Chelsea Green Publishing |
| Pub. Date: | June 2, 2026 |
| ISBN: | 9781645023241 |
Back in Control, 3rd Edition
A Surgeon’s Roadmap Out of Chronic Pain
Break free of chronic pain, without surgery. Renowned spine surgeon Dr. David Hansom lays out a framework to address your body’s specific needs.
In Back in Control, Dr. David Hanscom describes how to conquer debilitating chronic pain. His groundbreaking approach focuses on an aspect of chronic pain that today’s medical establishment has largely ignored: You, the patient, can learn to calm your nervous system, eliminate your pain, and make a full recovery. Dr. Hanscom’s methods have evolved from his personal experience of overcoming chronic pain, his work helping hundreds of patients go pain-free, and recent research on how our brains process pain. Written with rare honesty, this book will enable anyone suffering from chronic pain to regain control of their care and their life.
Back in Control provides a framework for you to understand the nature of chronic pain and will allow you to find your own solution based on well-established practices. Since it is a complex problem and you are a unique human being, the one person that can solve it is you. The principles apply to chronic pain involving any part of the body or organ system. The process evolved from the author’s own 15-year experience with severe chronic pain.
The concepts provide a context of care and connect you with other highly regarded professionals who are pioneers in the efforts to change the pain treatment paradigm. Some of them include Dr. John Sarno, author of Mind Over Back Pain; Dr. Howard Schubiner, who wrote Unlearn Your Pain; Dr. David Burns, a Stanford psychiatrist and author of Feeling Good; Dr. Fred Luskin who performed research on forgiveness at Stanford and authored Forgive for Good; David Allen who authored Getting Things Done; and Dr. Anthony DeMello, whose last memoirs are presented in The Way to Love, which introduces you to the healing power of awareness.
“Back in Control represents an innovative approach to chronic back pain, delivered by an extraordinary spine surgeon. No one should contemplate back surgery without first reading this book, as a cure may be closer than you think.”—Howard Schubiner, MD, author of Unlearn Your Pain; founder and director of the Mind-Body Medicine Center at St. John Providence Hospital, Southfield, MI
Reviews & Praise
"Dr. Hanscom explains in a way understandable to the layperson the mechanisms of chronic pain, neural plasticity, and how stress and anxiety exacerbate pain and suffering. These techniques can be adopted by anyone."—Paul Anderson, MD, University of Wisconsin
"An excellent resource for those experiencing pain...Dr. Hanscom is a top-notch surgeon who also has a deep understanding of the mind-body connection."—Frederic Luskin, PhD, author of Forgive for Good
“Back in Control, by eminent spine surgeon David Hanscom, MD, is the perfect prescription for those suffering from chronic back pain. Dr. Hanscom’s readable synthesis of frontier science and professional experience illuminates the functional interconnectivity of the spine, the nervous system, and the mind. This study reveals how perceived stress unconsciously sabotages our vitality; and, by following the described step-by-step processes, an “informed” consciousness can lead to mastery over one’s health. Back in Control places one of the most powerful tools for self-healing into your very own hands. Read this powerful and wise prescription and reclaim sovereignty over your health and your life.”—Bruce H. Lipton, PhD, stem cell biologist and best-selling author of The Biology of Belief, Spontaneous Evolution, and The Honeymoon Effect
“If your back’s been hurting, this is the next book you should read.”—David Tauben, MD, Medical Director, Center for Pain Relief at University of Washington Medical Center-Roosevelt
“Dr. Hanscom’s book contains a wealth of valuable insights for the majority of patients with chronic pain. Not only is the book insightful but it is also respectful of the suffering that patients with back pain experience. I am eager to recommend it to my back pain patients.”—Jim Robinson, MD, clinical professor at the Center for Pain Relief at University of Washington Medical Center-Roosevelt
“As a society, we want (and need) the specialists who limit their practice to a specific body part of a system to treat people as whole people anyway—and to be alert to and provide basic services for problems in other parts or systems. It is irresponsible for any physician (or other health care practitioner) to ignore symptoms in any domain. An orthopedist like Dr. Hanscom who is alert to the possibility of psychosocial issues and attends to them is many people’s dream of a wonderful doctor.”—Jennifer Christian, MD, occupational medicine; president of Webility and founder of the Work Fitness and Disability Roundtable
About David Hanscom
David Hanscom, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon who practiced complex spine surgery for thirty-two years in Seattle, Washington, and Sun Valley, Idaho. His expertise in healing chronic mental and physical pain emerged from his relentless search for answers to his own challenges with chronic pain and recurring intrusive thoughts. As he applied what he was learning to his spine practice, many of his surgical patients began to heal. He presented the healing principles he learned in Back in Control: A Surgeon’s Roadmap out of Chronic Pain, published in 2012, with a second edition in 2016. Dr. Hanscom quit his clinical practice in 2019 to bring his healing concepts into mainstream awareness. He is a guest on TV and radio programs spearheading efforts to define chronic illness, a regular contributor to Psychology Today, and a sought-after speaker at medical conferences worldwide.
Connect with David Hanscom
Books by David Hanscom
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