The PainScience eBookstore

74,000 books sold since 2007. ?This is a tough number for anyone to audit, because my customer database is completely private and highly secure. But if a regulatory agency ever said “show us your math,” I certainly could! This count is automatically updated once every day or two, and rounded down to the nearest 100. Due to some oddities in technology over the years, it’s probably a bit of an underestimate. See also customer help, login, about PainScience.com, security/privacy. Existing customer, adding to your library? Login before purchase.

You can buy only one book at a time… or all of them! The e-boxed set is a steeply discounted bundle of all 10 tutorials, ideal for professionals and keen patients. Includes several bonus audio downloads. See the boxed set information page.

BUY NOW ^$99⁹⁵ USD

Stubborn painful problems are often misunderstood, misdiagnosed, and mistreated. These book-length tutorials are crammed with tips, tricks, and insights. Although written as self-help guides for patients, they are also built for pros, with lots of footnotes and extra detail for readers who want to dig deeper. No miracle cures are for sale here — just sensible information, scientifically current, backed up by a huge bibliography and hundreds more free articles.

PainScience.com is a small Canadian publisher, selling books this way for about 17 years now (~74,000 books sold). Tutorials are $20 USD each (or $100 for all 10) and can be purchased and accessed in a couple minutes. No “account” or password is needed. Each book has a large, free introduction so you can get a good feel for it before you buy. Uncomfortable with buying things online? You’re welcome to give me a ring to confirm that I’m “real.” I am. 😃

Paul Ingraham
PainScience.com Publisher
Vancouver CANADA

paul@painscience.com
778-968-0930

Need books for your students or clients? Get a volume discount when you buy five or more books at a time. See the bulk purchase program.

Web e-books are better. Read them on any device. Lend them out. New editions free forever.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What do I get, exactly? A. Payment unlocks all chapters of your book(s). Each book is basically a huge webpage, and payment gives you access to the entire thing. Access is permanent and includes several updates per year. An audiobook version is automatically included for two topics (plantar fasciitis and IT band syndrome).

Q. Are there print versions? A. Electronic only, sorry. You can print the books yourself, but the larger ones would be a strain on a home printer.

ID  Vendor Information

company	PainScience.com
owner	Paul Ingraham
contact	778-968-0930
refunds	100%, no time limit +Customers are welcome to ask for a refund months after purchase — I understand that it can take time to decide if information like this was worth the price for you.
more info	policies page ❐
payments

Q. Who sells this? A. PainScience.com is a small business in Vancouver, Canada, run by me, Paul Ingraham, sole author and publisher since 2007.

Q. Can I read offline, like at the beach? A. Yes. Like any webpage, the books can be saved for offline reading easily.

Q. Do the books offer “cures”? A. No. I sell education about tricky conditions, not false hope. There’s nothing “too good to be true” on PainScience.com.

Q. Satisfaction guaranteed, right? A. Of course—and no time limit.

 MORE Q&A

Q. Can I read it on my iPad, Kindle, etc? A. Yes. Any Internet-enabled gadget works fine. (The e-Ink Kindles are not a good choice.)

Q. Can I buy this anywhere else? Amazon? A. Not yet. Maybe someday.

Q. Can I lend it? A. Yes, with a 3-person limit.

Q. Can I give it to my clients? A. I have a generous lending policy, but not that generous. 😉 Please recommend buying it, or consider my bulk purchase program.

Q. Why do you want my address? A. To prevent fraud (strongly recommended by my payment processor). Your contact information will never be abused.

Q. Are you going to send me e-mail? A. Only a receipt!

Q. Why should I trust you with my credit card? A. I will never see it: it goes straight from your screen to Stripe, a payment processing service with a great reputation for Doing Things Right. They handle all the high-tech security.

Contribute! Buy nothing but spend money anyway…

If you don’t really need a book, but you’ve found PainScience.com useful, you can say thank you with a contribution.

Praise for PainScience.com books

References, sources, studies, science, actual facts! The humour and occasional cat reference are nice bonuses.

Adrian Gardner

Wow, what an impressive amount of material you’ve produced in the vast desert of factual “physio” information.

Lea Palkin

The option to send you a meaningful sum of money was a no brainer. It will also not be the last donation, as I would conservatively estimate that your website has saved me multiple thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours in unnecessary professional treatments. Your work is a treasure, sir!

Greg Hughes

(Many more of these below, plus some musings about my reluctance to use testimonials at all.)

9 reasons PainScience.com tutorials are awesome (and worth a few bucks)

There is a lot of free health information online. Why would you buy any? What makes these tutorials worth paying for? Other than the fact that most free health information on the internet is crappy …

1. Free future editions. Books about health science are almost obsolete by the time they hit the shelves. I constantly revise, update, and expand tutorials as the science evolves. And you can read the updates, for free, forever.
2. A sense of humour. PainScience.com isn’t a comedy website, but I do make a genuine attempt to make dry material about pain at least a little bit fun. There’s whimsy and sass.

3. A way with words that makes PainScience.com more interesting, useful and fun. I was a professional writer long before I was a massage therapist (and now long since).
4. Heavily researched … and beautifully footnoted. I spent a bunch of money and worked for years to create “good footnotes” for PainScience.com. It’s absurdly idealistic.
5. Respect for science and reason. Amen! I have a zero tolerance policy for bullshit. Logical fallacies are banned from PainScience.com. I am debunking myths instead of perpetuating them or selling pet theories, big promises, and miracle cures.
6. Easy on the eyes. Elegantly simple design. PainScience.com is “a clean, well-lighted place.” I can’t knowingly publish a sloppy document any more than I could cut off my own hand — it’s just not in me.
7. They will save you money. For a few dollars, my tutorials often save readers hundreds or thousands of dollars in unnecessary or inefficient therapy expenses.
8. Satisfaction guaranteed, of course, and good customer service in general. If you aren’t happy with your purchase, all you have to do is write to me and we take care of it. One of my biggest pet peeves in life is crappy customer service.
9. No shipping. Digital publishing means you can buy and read these documents now — no trip to the bookstore, and no trees have to die. (Funny how this bullet point seemed more amazing a few years ago, but hey … still great.)

Interested in ebooks and publishing? You might enjoy this rant: Better eBooks! What’s wrong with the ebook industry (and how I’m making something better for my customers)

Genuine praise that I totally did not make up: lots of testimonials (and the trouble with using them)

I have mixed feelings about testimonials. On the one hand, yikes: they are strongly associated with snake oil. Quacks use testimonials to sell their wares. I do not want to be in that club. I do not want to resemble that club.

Also, everyone knows that unscrupulous businesses invent testimonials. They just make ‘em up. Many smart people just flat out don’t believe any testimonials are genuine, and that is prudent.

On the other hand, I get a lot of lovely fan mail from people who truly appreciate what I’m trying to do here. When a librarian writes to tell me what a marvellous job I’ve done with my bibliography, I am proud of that, and I want to share. And so, cautiously, I collect the testimonials that are mainly focused on the quality of the information. The ones I’ve shared below are just a few of the shorter ones specifically about one/all of my books.

I am a mostly retired ER doc in Oregon who just finished reading your ITBS tutorial. Impressive. I enjoy something medical from a non medical person's perspective — refreshing, in your case. A very nice job.

Arnold Donstain

Very interesting to read! Thanks for all the research and clearing up a lot of mysteries that I’ve tried over the years. I wish I’d bought it the first time I came across your book instead of scouring research myself and drawing no conclusions…

Angela Talbot

I am so thankful I found your ebook. It gave me valuable information to question my treatment and move forward to obtain a second opinion, which was badly needed.

Jonathan Faver

Thanks for a well written, humorous and informative piece. Your book helped me understand what I did to my knee running and how to treat (and not treat!) stubborn injury. Might see you jogging through Stanley Park or water front, on one of our visits to daughter, love Vancouver.

Matt Randlett

Your online guide is an amazing collection of data and reference. I’m very hopeful and wanted to share my story with you. Thanks again!

Dominique Phan

Thank you for such helpful, intelligent information on neck issues. I am so thankful that I read your information and no more. You answered every lingering question and are persuasive in counselling calm and patience.

Virginia Avila, Retired Teacher & Attorney

Your book is so comprehensive and outlines a lot of what I have also found, with more explanation and scientific backing, and then expands upon it. I purchased it this afternoon and have read it almost cover to cover all afternoon and evening!

Tanvir England

Firstly I would like to thank you for your Trigger Point therapy book, which is very easy to read and follow (and the witty sense of humor doesn’t hurt!).

Yusra Winters

First, thank you for the very informative e-book; I am thoroughly enjoying it — which is strange since it’s a medical text. That attests to your ability to write in a very engaging and easy-to-follow tone.

Safia Salinas

Your tutorial on patellarfemoral syndrome really cut through a lot of misinformation I’ve received from MDs and PTs.

Alastair Rosario

Thank you for delivering information about trigger points and resulting pain in a manner that is understandable to the general public. While I am a Physical Therapist most everything I read or listen to automatically gets translated into a more scientific jargon. This helps me to relay the message to my clients.

Kaydon Joyner, physical therapist

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this book together, and in a way that makes it feel like you wrote it just for me! You have a great writing style.

Chyna Pittman

I appreciate all of the effort you put into your website and tutorials, and your customer service is beyond exceptional. I always refer people to your site and I will continue to do so indefinitely. Thanks again!

Kiri Cartwright

Thank you so much for taking the time to put this book together, and in a way that makes it feel like you wrote it just for me! You have a great writing style.

Hanna Beck

Buying your “bundle” a while back was one of the better decisions of my life, as a 63-year-old runner and amateur athlete. I refer to them for different issues as they crop up, and I like also to be able to pass them on to friends.

Daniyal Terry, Nurse Practitioner

I appreciate what appears to be a well-researched, sobering, humble but hopeful approach to this complex condition.

Frankie Koch

I have spent thousands of dollars over the last 20 years on chiro, PT, orthopaedic appointments, MRI’s, etc. Your research is like a breath of fresh air!

Haleema Bourne

I just bought your trigger point book and am already very happy about it. So easy to read and understand. I started another one but all I saw was a jumble of scientific words I couldn’t remember anyway.

Rico Davenport

Thanks again for putting together all the back pain research — a good percentage of it anyway — into an easy-to-read publication.

Nojus Proctor

Thanks for the great tutorial! Much more helpful than any of the professionals I’ve seen for my chronic running-induced shin pain — all the doctors, sports massage therapists, chiropractors, and physical therapists!

Cassandra Clarke

I was so sick of reading crappy little articles with the same old advice. Seems like there’s about ten thousand that all say the same useless things. Thanks for the deep dive!

Sandra Frank, Ottawa, Ontario

Thank you immensely for the best, most sensible and credible information on back pain. So glad you came up in my google search. Credible, reassuring, and humorous too.

Suzanne Haslett, Suzanne Haslett, Masters in Human Development (Oxford)

I enjoyed your trigger point tutorial and read the whole thing again last Friday. I also sent it to two friends who are having problems. It’s the education your site has armed me with that is most valuable to me.

Melinda Alltree, Vancouver

I really appreciate your objectivity.

Dr. Bryan Allf, MD, North Carolina

I love your IT band tutorial. Is there any way that I can keep it forever, or maybe order a hard copy? This information is very valuable to me — I would like to be able to refer to it permanently.

Marilyn Anderson, Aspen, Colorado

Of course I hope it will be a book someday! Meanwhile, customers are welcome to electronically preserve and/or print my tutorials. ~ Paul

Given what I have learned about patellofemoral pain syndrome over the last two years through personal experience, your tutorial is probably the best summary of everything I have seen.

anonymous

It’s hard to work out what causes the trouble in the first place, and different strategies work for different people, but thanks to your advice and recommendations I’m running, and a lot less grumpy! Thank you!

Debbie Bridgland, mid-distance runner, Atwell, Australia

This has already served as a massive eye opener for me. It makes a huge amount of sense where previously there was only confusion.

Greg Bruce, “struggling masters athlete”

Thanks for your great work. I’ve read about ITBS for years and everything I’ve ever read did not add up to ½ of the information you provided.

Kevin Burnett, runner, California

One trigger point therapy treatment completely relieved a nasty stubborn hip pain that I'd had for five months!

Jan Campbell, retired French language teacher, Palm Springs, recovered easily from several months of hip pain

Really interesting reading. I quickly found information I haven’t seen anywhere else, and it was referenced. No one has ever even suggested that lower leg muscles might be involved. I’ve often wondered about that.

Steven Coombs, plantar fasciitis sufferer

I spent seven hours straight sitting at my computer and my back didn't hurt at all! You’re a genius! Thanks so much.

Isabelle Deguise, Graduate Student

Finding this information was a huge relief for me. I really did think I had “tried everything.” But I found pages and pages of stuff in your article that no other doctor or therapist had ever even mentioned.

Jared Foster, long-distance runner

I used to have unbearable episodes of back pain, and had stopped playing squash completely — it was just too risky. After a handful of treatments, I was pain-free! Just in time for becoming a father, too! And the relief has been surprisingly long-lasting.

Majid Ghorbani, MBA Student

Outstanding, excellent work! I really want to commend you. I teach trigger points, and I will be recommending your tutorial to my students. Thanks very much.

John Harris, medical massage therapy instructor, Santa Barbara, co-author of Fix Pain: Bodywork Protocols for Myofascial Pain Syndromes

I have read your tutorial on patellofemoral pain syndrome, and it seems to provide the only sensible information I can find on the subject, despite countless hours on Google, and endless hours with three different physical therapists, an orthopedic surgeon, and my regular MD.

Heather F., patient with 6 months of “constant pain”

I am really enjoying your trigger points tutorial. It’s great to have a lot of extra, professional information to work with. I have found a serious shortage of information on the web, so it was easy to pay for your tutorial given the clear quality conveyed by the introduction.

Daniel Jalkut, software developer, Somerville, Massachusetts

Thank you! There is more and better information here than anywhere else I found. What a relief to have a truly comprehensive resource. I was so sick of reading all the same old basic advice.

Jan A., triathlete, Oregon

After about six weeks of solid reading I haven’t even scratched the surface of the information. There’s so much good information I’m overloaded — but in a good way, and all for such a low price. It is more than a good value for the money.

Hannah Jarvis, Hannah Jarvis, UK

Nearly 400 footnotes! If there were something like a Ralph Nader award for studious, debunking health care professionals, I’d nominate you.

Mary Ann Kae, Licensed Massage Practitioner, Seattle

Remember me? I had what you diagnosed as iliotibial band syndrome and you suggested I try the ice cup method. Well it worked wonderfully and I have never had any recurrence of this problem. Thank you so much for your invaluable advice!

Irene Kerosec, Vancouver

I’m really enjoying your work!

Janice Kregor, competitive swimmer, retired pediatrician, medical school instructor

Much more informative and easy to read than anything else I could easily find. I laughed quite a bit, actually.

Pearl Lim, lawyer, Hong Kong

Your article about patellofemoral pain is by far the best resource on the web — a true service, I think, to those who are getting bad information from doctors and physical therapists.

Adam Lowry, long-distance runner, California

Thanks for a hugely informative tour of the dark continent of knee pain.

Bob Maul, former nationally ranked Masters swimmer (Bob says, “Bad knees ended that chapter of my life.”)

Thank you for all the sound information! Other information was confusing and conflicting to sift through compared to your tutorial. I appreciate the time and effort that must have gone into creating it.

Karen McCulloch, long distance runner, Wisconsin

ITBS is very annoying to research on the net given the massive amount of inaccurate information posted by people who have no right commenting on the issue. It's great to finally find something this comprehensive.

Ben Paynter, chronic ITBS sufferer, an Englishman in Australia

It was (almost literally) killing me that I couldn’t walk. I’d gained weight, morale was very low. Thanks a million for this article, it’s so much more informative than anything else I could find it’s just crazy. Why isn’t this information more available?

Janice Campbell, mother of five, enthusiastic recreational walker, Oregon

I came across your article about plantar fasciitis and you have managed to diagnose what my doctor could not. Impressive! Many thanks for publishing your clear and concise explanation.

anonymous reader

I came across your website last night when I was trying to research the anterior knee pain that I have had for 22 years. I read on till midnight, gripped by all you have to say! Thanks for a very, very helpful article.

Marni Rebmann, Matching, Harlow, England

I read your article on muscle strains, and I was very impressed. You seem to really know your stuff. I wish there was one of you in every state!

Robin

I had to quit golf for pain. With Paul’s help, now I can play all day without a twinge! But Paul offers much more than that — I think he is an old soul.

Judy Rollick, retired teacher

My back has been great … I continue to do your wonderful exercises. I sung your praises wherever I went in Africa. Thanks again for your patience and diligence.

Selma Savage, nurse, Vancouver (upon successfully reaching her goal of travelling to Africa without back pain)

Very much improved since reading your tips and admonitions ...

Leanne Schultz, runner, Victoria, Canada

Just wanted to say I love your site, it’s full of information! I bought your low back pain tutorial —very good!

Lita Scruton, Ontario

We can’t help hoping for magic! But, to your credit, you tell it like it is!

Harold Smage, trigger point sufferer, Elkhorn, Wisconsin

After Googling ‘neck knot’ I read an article on some ask-the-clinician site which was pretty useless, and then tried yours. It was exactly the information I was looking for! Your article affirmed some of my own theories and enlightened me with more detailed information. You’re a thorough and organized writer.

Cheryl Sosebee, artist

Your writing is clear and easy to follow and you cut away the rampant B.S. that's out there.

Jim Stephens, 20-year muscle pain veteran, Illinois

I appreciate your research on this subject, and that you have clearly debunked lots of poor quality ‘science.’

Sukey Jacobsen, Mount Vernon, Washington

If every disorder had such a well written self-diagnostic and treatment guide we'd be a lot closer to manageable spending on health care. Thanks.

Timothy Trutna, programmer with chronic muscle pain, California

Your research is impressive.

Gita Upreti, graduate research assistant and casual runner with patello-femoral pain, Arizona

I found this article when I was researching how to heal my pulled muscle. I love the mobilization exercises at the end — great for a ‘desk jockey’ like me!

Juanita Vannay

Thank you again for publishing so much useful information about solving pain problems. After seeing so many doctors over the years that don’t take time to volunteer information I am ecstatic to find your website.

Carla Whitney, trigger point sufferer

I recently purchased your low back pain tutorial. What a fascinating read. You certainly have done a lot of research and what you say does make a lot of sense. I am very optimistic that you've got me pointed in the right direction.

Colin Ylioja, low back pain sufferer, Regina, Canada