Your guide to back pain / John Tanner.

"The Royal Society of Medicine."

Includes index.

Acknowledgements viii
Preface ix
Introduction xi
Why me?
1 (13)
Vulnerability to back pain
3 (3)
What causes back pain?
6 (5)
Working with back pain
11 (3)
What can I do about back pain?
14 (15)
Self-help
15 (7)
Seeking professional help
22 (1)
Helping yourself
23 (6)
Understanding your back and how it works
29 (23)
Diagnosing back pain
29 (2)
Precisely what is wrong with your back?
31 (1)
Triage
32 (1)
What is a dysfunction?
33 (3)
Structure and function of the spine
36 (10)
The muscles of the back
46 (6)
How things go wrong
52 (28)
Muscle tension
53 (1)
Muscle strain
54 (2)
Spinal discs
56 (6)
Facet joint strain and dysfunction
62 (5)
Spondylolisthesis
67 (2)
Childhood back pain
69 (3)
Curvature of the spine
72 (1)
Back pain in older people
73 (7)
Who should I see?
80 (12)
The doctor's approach
81 (5)
Physiotherapists, osteopaths and chiropractors
86 (6)
Investigations and treatments
92 (29)
Still not improving?
92 (1)
Which specialist is ideal?
93 (3)
The specialist appointment
96 (1)
How useful is an X-ray?
97 (2)
How useful is an MRI scan?
99 (4)
CT scan
103 (1)
Bone scan
103 (1)
Nerve conduction studies
104 (1)
Treatments
105 (16)
Surgery and pain management
121 (21)
Is surgery appropriate?
121 (2)
Alternatives to disc surgery
123 (2)
Surgical treatment
125 (6)
Chronic pain syndrome
131 (3)
Pain services
134 (8)
Living with back pain
142 (18)
Acceptance
144 (1)
Stop blaming others
145 (1)
Pace yourself
146 (3)
Goal-setting
149 (1)
Focusing
150 (1)
Pain medication
151 (1)
Simple self-help remedies
152 (8)
Pathway options with optimal time course for back pain 160 (2)
Further help 162 (2)
Glossary 164 (4)
Appendices 168 (8)
Index 176

Focuses on both the diagnosis and treatment of back pain, giving the reader advice on all the option available and how to deal with it in everyday life.