No one is immune. From champion athletes to desk-bound white-collar professionals, many simple acts of life - a relaxing evening stroll through the neighborhood, an exhilarating run along a sandy beach, just bending down to tie a loose shoelace - are often acts of torture. And the walking wounded seem to be everywhere these days. It could, without exaggeration, be called a modern epidemic. In this brilliant book, renowned anatomical functionalist Pete Egoscue identifies the epidemic's causes and effects. By recognizing that the human body is dependent on adequate motion to maintain its full range of physical functions and overall health, he has revolutionized both the treatment of musculoskeletal pain and the techniques for training athletes to achieve peak performance levels. In a friendly, informative, person-to-person style, Egoscue lays out the fundamentals of his life-altering program and shifts responsibility for the reader's health back into his or her own hands. The reader, like thousands of patients who have visited Egoscue's T.H.E. clinics in California and Florida, is first introduced to the seminal idea that modern society is not providing enough motion to keep the human body healthy. The next step is to identify not just the symptoms but the actual cause of any musculoskeletal pain and to correct the dysfunction that is the real source of the problem. Motion is systematically reintroduced, much the same way a starving person is revived with proper nutrition. Brimming with common sense andpractical advice, the heart of this important book consists of twenty-two easy-to-do, highly effective exercises that stretch, strengthen, and relax the body, allowing a return to proper alignment. It's all done without expensive equipment, treatment regimens, or, most importantly, drugs or surgery.