Chapter One
I have never seen a patient with pain in the neck, shoulders, back
or buttocks who didn't believe that the pain was due to an injury, a
"hurt" brought on by some physical activity. "I hurt myself while
running (playing basketball, tennis, bowling)." "The pain started
after I lifted my little girl" or "when I tried to open a stuck
window." "Ten years ago I was involved in a hit from behind auto
accident and I have had recurrent back pain ever since."
The idea that pain means injury or damage is deeply ingrained in the
American consciousness. Of course, if the pain starts while one is
engaged in a physical activity it's difficult not to attribute the
pain to the activity. (As we shall see later, that is often
deceiving.) But this pervasive concept of the vulnerability of the
back, of ease of injury, is nothing less than a medical catastrophe
for the American public, which now has an army of semidisabled men
and ...
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