Author(s): David Wise and Rodney Anderson

Health

Chronic pelvic pain afflicts 1.6 million Americans (about 55 percent of sufferers are men). It goes by the names of pelvic floor dysfunction and prostatitis, among others. Its causes are hard to pinpoint, so it is often left untreated despite causing excruciating pain.

David Wise, PhD, went searching for relief 20 years ago after doctors were unable to help him, diving into the medical literature, self-experimenting, and ultimately joining forces with Stanford urologist Dr. Rodney Anderson. He finally found relief via the muscle relaxation protocol they created. Their theory is that pelvic floor pain is correlated with psychological distress; the book guides the reader through a holistic treatment integrating physical therapy and meditative relaxation, a protocol that studies show allows one-third of patients to stop all drugs after six months.