Low Back Pain

Back pain has many causes and, as a result, many treatments. Low Back Pain: Healing your aching back, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School, helps you understand why back pain occurs and which treatments are most likely to help. Treatment of low back pain has undergone a recent sea change. Experts now appreciate the central role of exercise to build muscles that support the back. They also better understand which conditions surgery will help and which patients are good surgical candidates. This report describes the different types of back problems and the tailored treatments that are more likely to help specific conditions. A special section is dedicated to the self-care steps you can take to mend your back, and features information on different types of exercise and complementary therapies such as chiropractic care, acupuncture, and massage, as well as healthy back habits and tips on choosing a mattress.

Back pain has many causes and, as a result, many treatments. Low Back Pain: Healing your aching back, a Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School, helps you understand why back pain occurs and which treatments are most likely to help. Treatment of low back pain has undergone a recent sea change. Experts now appreciate the central role of exercise to build muscles that support the back. They also better understand which conditions surgery will help and which patients are good surgical candidates. This report describes the different types of back problems and the tailored treatments that are more likely to help specific conditions. A special section is dedicated to the self-care steps you can take to mend your back, and features information on different types of exercise and complementary therapies such as chiropractic care, acupuncture, and massage, as well as healthy back habits and tips on choosing a mattress.

Jeffrey N. Katz, M.D., is a rheumatologist with a special interest in the evaluation and outcomes of muscle and bone disorders including carpal tunnel syndrome, lumbar spinal stenosis and osteoarthritis, and lower extremity joint replacement. He is the co-director of the Spine Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, professor of medicine and orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School, and professor of epidemiology and environmental health at the Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Katz is also the deputy editor of the journal Spine.