BACKACHE RELIEF

by Arthur C. & Dava Sobel Klein ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 18, 1984

From interviews with 492 back pain sufferers, the authors have come up with a sound, practical summary of--quite simply--the most effective measures to relieve backache. Klein and Sobel pass quickly from basic causes to alleviation. First, they look at ""Back Practitioners,"" medical and non-medical. The most effective: physiatrists--medical specialists in rehabilitative, or physical, medicine (""your best bet among all practitioners--medical or non-medical--for both acute and chronic back problems""). The problem is that with only 1500 in the US they are difficult to find. Of the non-medical practitioners, physical therapists far outscore everyone else (including chiropractors). Based on their respondents' experiences, the authors evaluate each type of practitioner at length; the #1 warning is to steer clear of neurologists--they don't help, and they do hurt. In the same fashion, Klein and Sobel cover the various treatments--from surgery to exercise and heat applications--and also include a section on self-treatment. Finally, they arrange all their material according to category of back pain: acute back pain; chronic low back pain; pain from a ruptured disc; neck pain; arthritis-based back pain; and so on. Readers thus have laid out for them the most efficacious practitioners, treatments, and everyday measures. A first-rate job--and an expansion upon the best of the backache books of recent years (e.g., Rene Cailliet's Understand Your Backache, p. 234).

Pub Date: Feb. 18, 1984

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Times Books

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1984

Categories: NONFICTION