Sooner or later almost everyone suffers an episode of back pain. Usually it is an unpleasant, awkward but not desperately serious problem. Occasionally there may be a more serious underlying cause. Back pain is a major and increasing health problem and is now the principal cause of absence from work. This booklet aims to show you how the back works, what goes wrong, why back problems arise, how they are treated and to give some indication of when further investigations and specialised help are necessary.
Malcom I.V. Jayson MD,FRCP is Professor of Rheumatology at the Manchester and Salford Back Pain Centre. Professor Jayson has conducted extensive studies of the structure and function of the human spine, methods of measurement and trials of treatment and fundamental research on the mechanisms by which back pain develops
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