Eighty percent of Americans experience back pain in varying degrees at some point in their lives. In fact, back pain is second only to the common cold as a reason why people visit a doctor. In The Back Book, Johns Hopkins surgeons Ziya L. Gokaslan and Lee Hunter Riley explain the causes and complexities of back pain and the various paths to diagnosis and treatment. Stressing the importance of individualized treatment, they discuss the process of establishing a treatment plan that is acceptable to the person with pain as well as to the attending physician. They also: • lay out reasonable expectations for surgical and nonsurgical treatment • illuminate the possibilities, risks, and limitations of back surgery • describe how to select a surgeon and the importance of choosing the right one Informative and reassuring, The Back Book provides readers with the knowledge they need to understand their back pain and get started on the route to relief.

This is the second edition of the booklet which contains practical advice on how to deal with back problems and stay active. It is based on the latest research and the information has been shown to be effective in clinical trials. It is suitable for anyone suffering back pain, and doctors or therapists can use it to help patients cope with early management of symptoms. It is linked with the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Faculty of Occupational Medicine guidelines for coping with back pain. The publication is also available in packs of 10 copies (ISBN 0117029505), as well as a video based on the booklet (Get back active, ISBN 0117029408).

As a distinguished and admired American diplomat of the last half century, Burns has played a central role in the most consequential diplomatic episodes of his time: from the bloodless end of the Cold War and post-Cold War relations with Putin's Russia to the secret nuclear talks with Iran. Here he recounts some of the seminal moments of his career, drawing on newly declassified cables and memos to give readers a rare, inside look at American diplomacy in action, and of the people who worked with him. The result is an powerful reminder of the enduring importance of diplomacy. -- adapted from jacket

A teacher and public-television personality outlines a program of exercises and other strategies for alleviating and eliminating forms of lower-back pain

"This easy to follow patient handbook provides the reader with an active self-treatment plan to resolve and manage back pain. First published in 1980, Treat Your Own Back has featured in many studies, which over the years have proven its benefits and validity. Study results show that exercises taken from Treat Your Own Back can decrease back pain within a week, and in some cases actually prevent back pain. Long term results include reduced pain episodes and decreased severity of pain."--Back cover.

The first full-length volume of poems in a decade by the former poet laureate of the United States In The Back Chamber, Donald Hall illuminates the evocative, iconic objects of deep memory—a cowbell, a white stone perfectly round, a three-legged milking stool—that serve to foreground the rich meditations on time and mortality that run through his remarkable new collection. While Hall’s devoted readers will recognize many of his long-standing preoccupations—baseball, the family farm, love, sex, and friendship—what will strike them as new is the fierce, pitiless poignancy he reveals as his own life’s end comes into view. The Back Chamber is far from being death-haunted, but rather is lively, irreverent, erotic, hilarious, ironic, and sly—full of the life-affirming energy that has made Donald Hall one of America’s most popular and enduring poets.

Describes a method of reducing pain and back injury that has been used by celebrities, Olympic medalists, and other sport figures.