Back Pain: How to Treat Lower Back Pain is written for Medical Professionals as well as patients. This book serves as an educational and discovery guide to help diagnose and treat chronic pain issues. For those on a journey to discover the cause of their pain, this book will lead you on a path to realize something you may have thought to be impossible, "a life without pain." As a spine pain physician, I meet many patients who have spent years bouncing around the medical system with little to show for their efforts. Often, their previous physicians have told them that: "Back problems are just part of getting older." "You’d feel better if you lost weight." "According to the x-rays, you’re fine." "Let’s continue physical therapy and see what happens." (Even though nothing’s happening.) "Here’s another prescription." Eric is one such patient. When we met, he was forty-two and had suffered from back pain for seventeen years. Despite occasional flare-ups, he led an active life that included golf, softball, skiing, and tennis. The pain was a nuisance, but he could usually manage it with ibuprofen and other over-the-counter medicines. Six months before he visited our center, Eric’s back problems worsened. At his first appointment with us, he was an 8 on a 0-10 pain scale (with 10 representing intolerable pain). His discomfort was so severe that he could no longer work or even stand long enough to shower. He’d consulted specialists at several university hospitals, including an orthopedic spine surgeon, and wasn"t given much hope. The main message he’d heard was that he needed to accept the pain and “learn to live with it.” Eric: Relief at Last Eric didn"t want to "live with" chronic, debilitating pain. He was relentless about finding answers. Fortunately, he discussed the impasse with his family physician, who referred him to our center. Understanding a patient’s back pain requires quite a bit of detective work. Clues are sought and suspects eliminated. Eric’s history, physical examination, imaging studies, and lab work showed no red flags of a serious underlying problem like cancer or infection. His medical workup was also negative for extra-spinal problems presenting as “referred” back pain (kidney stones are a common example). This meant his pain most likely originated within his musculoskeletal system—the bones, muscles, cartilage, tendons, discs and joints that support and move the body. At our clinic, we take a comprehensive approach to diagnosis and treatment rather than focusing on the back alone. In Eric’s case, this was fortunate indeed. A head-toe-examination yielded an important clue: a tender ligament in his left foot. What’s more, his heel-ankle joint was frozen to the point where I was unable to move it with my hands. "Have you ever sprained this ankle?" I asked. Eric laughed. "How’d you guess?" If you are like Eric and want relief from your pain; this book is packed with information that will help you take the mystery out of your back pain. My goal is to help you discover how you can begin a path to greatly reduce and even eliminate chronic pain not only in your back, but also in the other areas in your body you may not realize is a direct result of your back issues.