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

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, orifginally 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.