Field of medicine: Primary care.

Format: Softcover book.

Audience: Primary care physicians, residents, students, and physical therapists.

Purpose: To provide primary care providers with a guide to 1) maximizing the usefulness of the history and physical examination and 2) using the most cost-effective diagnostic tests and ancillary services to care for patients with low back pain.

Content: An outline format is used, and key concepts are described at the start of each chapter. The problems of special populations, including the elderly, children, adolescents, pregnant women, patients with chronic pain, patients filing for workers compensation, and patients who do not respond to surgery, are discussed. The anatomy of, pathophysiology of, biomechanics of, diagnostic tests for, and treatment options for low back pain are outlined. The editors are Fellows of the American College of Sports Medicine and use the contributions of experts in physical medicine and rehabilitation, anesthesia and pain management, orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, and rheumatology.

Highlights: This handbook is clearly written, complete, and concise. Excellent illustrations include photographs of physical examination techniques, anatomy, radiographic findings, and treatment tools. The references are up to date and relevant, the Table of contents is clear, and the index allows clinicians to look up detailed, patient-pertinent questions.

Limitations: Although this is a comprehensive review of diagnostic techniques and treatment protocols, it does not provide detailed information about the complications of treatment or about alternative treatment modalities for low back pain.

Context: A handy desk reference for practitioners.

Reviewer: Joy H. Schwartz, DO, University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois.

Commentary: This practical, well-organized, logical, detailed review is appropriate for on-the-job use by primary care physicians. If physicians follow the suggested protocols, they will not be likely to miss uncommon causes of low back pain. This book should prove useful in the world of managed care.