Treat Your Back Without Surgery : The Best Nonsurgical Alternatives for Eliminating Back and Neck Pain

by Hochschuler, Stephen; Reznik, Bob

• ISBN13: 9780897933728
• ISBN10: 0897933729
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-06-03
• Publisher: Hunter House

Summary

(Hunter House) Consumer text includes information on equipment to strengthen the back, treating disc problems without open back surgery, IDET: a minimally invasive alternative to fusion surgery, artificial disks and bone-healing technology, and the best uses of injection therapy. Previous edition: c1998. Softcover.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix
Acknowledgments	x
Part I: Understanding Back and Neck Pain	1	(24)
How You Can Benefit from this Book	2	(7)
The ``80 Percent'' Rule for Back and Neck Pain	3	(1)
Pain Relief, then Prevention	4	(1)
Can My Back Pain Go Away with Exercise?	4	(1)
Who Is at High Risk for a Back Attack?	5	(1)
What You Will Learn from this Book	5	(1)
Becoming Informed	6	(1)
The Authors' Perspectives	7	(2)
How Your Back Works and What Can Go Wrong with It	9	(16)
Understanding How Your Spine Works	11	(3)
Understanding How Your Back Muscles Work	14	(2)
What Causes Back and Neck Pain	16	(3)
Back Problems that May Require Surgery	19	(6)
Part II: Back Care and Treatment	25	(171)
Mainstream Ways to Treat Your Back on Your Own	26	(29)
First Aid Remedies for Back Pain	27	(2)
Exercise	29	(5)
Exercises to Relieve Back and Neck Pain	34	(13)
Neck Exercises	47	(4)
Exercises to Do at Work or at Play	51	(4)
Mainstream Professional Remedies	55	(13)
Physical Therapy	56	(2)
Specialized Rehabilitation Equipment	58	(2)
Group Back Schools and Other Back Education	60	(1)
Chiropractic	61	(3)
Injections	64	(2)
Orthotrac: A Potential Nonsurgical Alternative to Back Surgery	66	(1)
Lumbar Corsets, Traction, Braces, Etc.	67	(1)
Nonsurgical Cures	68	(23)
Healing with Touch	71	(1)
Biofeedback	72	(1)
Back Pain Caused by Tension	73	(1)
Prolotherapy	74	(1)
Metals and Magnets	74	(1)
Body Work	75	(3)
Chinese Medicine	78	(10)
Pain Relief from India	88	(2)
A Final Thought about Alternative Medicine	90	(1)
Preventing Back Pain	91	(18)
Are Certain Occupations High Risk for Back Pain?	93	(1)
Smoking and Back Pain	94	(1)
Stress and Job Satisfaction	95	(1)
Depression	95	(1)
Body Build, Breast Size, and Lifestyle Issues	96	(1)
Posture and Ergonomic Issues	97	(1)
Two Good Ways to Lift and One Way that Is Sure to Wreak Havoc	98	(5)
Corsets and Back Belts	103	(1)
Rotational Sports	104	(1)
High-Impact Sports	105	(1)
Sleeping Without Strain	106	(1)
The Pillow: A Head Start to Better Sleep	107	(1)
Four Ways to Lower Your Risk of Back or Neck Pain	107	(2)
When Should You See a Doctor?	109	(15)
Can You Diagnose Yourself?	110	(1)
When Should You Go to the Emergency Room?	111	(2)
Doctors' Biases	113	(1)
What Kind of Back Doctor Should You See for an Attack of Acute Pain?	114	(2)
What Kind of Back Doctor Should You See for Complex Symptoms?	116	(1)
How Important Is the Doctor's Personality?	117	(2)
Government Guidelines on Treatment	119	(1)
What Kinds of Things Are Done in the Doctor Exam?	119	(1)
Diagnostic Tests Doctors Do for Back and Neck Pain	120	(4)
IntraDiscal Electrothermal Therapy (IDET), a New, Minimally Invasive Alternative to Fusion Surgery	124	(8)
What is IDET?	125	(4)
Who Is a Candidate for IDET?	129	(1)
The Results: Pain Can Linger	130	(2)
The Pros and Cons of Back Surgery	132	(12)
What's So Bad about Surgery?	134	(2)
Excessive Surgeries	136	(1)
Back Surgery in Other Cultures	137	(4)
Do You Need Back Surgery?	141	(1)
Surgery May Be Appropriate When	142	(1)
Surgery May Not Be Appropriate When	142	(2)
What Actually Happens in Back Surgery?	144	(10)
Types of Back Surgery	144	(5)
The Latest Advances in Spine Surgery	149	(1)
New Technology and Instrumentation	150	(2)
Multiple Spine Surgeries	152	(1)
Recovery after Spine Surgery	152	(2)
New Technology Promises Relief for the Millions with Degenerative Disc Disease	154	(17)
Disc, Joint, or Soft Tissue Pain?	155	(1)
Who Has Bad Discs?	155	(1)
What Happens When a Disc Degenerates?	156	(1)
An Alternative to Fusion: The Artificial Disc	157	(7)
Other Innovations for Back Pain Coming this Decade	164	(1)
Other Medical Innovations on the Horizon	165	(1)
Innovations that Enhance Bone Healing and Fusion	166	(1)
Osteoplasty and Kyphoplasty: New Treatments for Spine Fractures	167	(2)
A New Option for Compression Fractures	169	(1)
Pilates	169	(2)
Finding the Best Surgeon	171	(8)
Choosing a Hospital	172	(1)
Checking Out a Doctor's Record	173	(1)
Neurosurgeons Versus Orthopedic Surgeons	174	(2)
Discussing Your Case	176	(1)
Getting a Second Opinion	176	(1)
Some Quick Tips for Evaluating Physicians	176	(1)
A Few Questions to Ask the Doctor	177	(2)
What to Do with Pain that Won't Go Away	179	(12)
The Difficulty of Treating Something You Can't See	181	(1)
Treating Chronic Pain	182	(1)
Pain Clinics	183	(8)
Making Yourself an Informed Consumer	191	(5)
Need Back Surgery? Get a Second Opinion	192	(1)
Volume Credentialing	193	(1)
The Age of the Enlightened Consumer	193	(1)
Some Final Thoughts	194	(2)
Resources	196	(7)
Health-Care Information on the Internet	196	(1)
Informative Spine Websites	196	(1)
General Health-Care Information Sites	197	(1)
Other Sites	198	(2)
Resources for Someone Suffering from Chronic Pain	200	(1)
Checking Out a Physician's Record	201	(1)
Other Resources	201	(2)
Notes	203	(3)
Index	206