YOUR ACHING BACK: A Doctor's Guide to Relief

An orthopedic surgeon's competent, unexceptional guide to the causes, treatment, and--to a degree--the prevention of back pain. Obesity and pregnancy are high on White's list of causes, though he claims that injuries from disco gyrations increased alarmingly in the wake of Saturday Night Fever. He also recognizes the role of the mind in interpreting pain, and sees the possible worth of some ""alternative"" pain relief methods. Preventive care is covered in a chapter on lifting, exercise, chair-and-bed-choice, and the like; examining non-surgical and surgical treatments he clearly sees the latter as the last resort. A particular plus is the full, candid discussion of ""Sex and the Aching Back""--advice that's often difficult to obtain. Nonetheless, Edith Rudinger's The No More Back Trouble Book (1980) supplies a more thorough prevention and home treatment plan, while Shirley Linde's How to Beat a Bad Back (1980) is superior for exercise.