J Occup Rehabil (2007) 17:167–168 DOI 10.1007/s10926-006-9063-y BOOK REVIEW

C. Liebenson (Ed), Rehabilitation of the Spine. A Practitioner’s Manual Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 2007, 972 pp., $99.95 (hardbound) Bruce A. Barron

Published online: 23 January 2007
C Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007

Acute low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common medical problems in our society. The Nuprin Pain Report showed that the 1-year prevalence rate was 56% and the lifetime prevalence rate was 70% [1]. Several European studies have reported similar findings. Although back pain typically runs a self-limited course, some experts in the field have stopped characterizing LBP as an acute problem that recovers, but rather as a chronic problem associated with intermittent exacerbations. In conjunction with this paradigm shift in characterizing back pain has come a new paradigm in rehabilitation of the spine. Rehabilitation of the Spine. A Practitioner’s Manual (Rehabilitation of the Spine), now in its second edition, presents state-of-the-art strategies for optimizing functional outcomes in patients having spinal pain. In keeping with the latest scientific evidence that patient reassurance and reactivation are the first steps in rehabilitation of the spine, these basic strategies are incorporated into the book along with other modern principles of evidence-based, patient-centered, active self-care for patients having disabling spinal pain. Rehabilitation of the Spine is organized into seven parts. Part I is an overview that introduces the reader to the new rehabilitative paradigm. Part II covers the basic science of injury, restabilization, and pain. Part III reviews the assessment of diagnostic triage, functional assessment, psychosocial screening, and outcomes management. Part IV summarizes acute care management while Part V focuses on tools and techniques needed for recovery care management. Part VI provides guides for the practical application of key assessment and training techniques. The final section, Part VII, offers strategies for implementing the new paradigm in practice. Learning objectives are provided at the beginning of each chapter, emphasizing key concepts and information. Rehabilitation of the Spine also includes an accompanying DVD that demonstrates the correct application of the most important rehabilitation methods. The DVD, in conjunction with more than 750 illustrations and photographs, enables the reader to better understand important concepts discussed in the text. The second edition of Rehabilitation of the Spine has been completely re-written and updated. The book’s basic emphasis on active care, outcomes, and psychosocial factors remains intact. B. A. Barron (
) Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York e-mail: Bruce [email protected] Springer

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J Occup Rehabil (2007) 17:167–168

Suggested strategies for spinal rehabilitation are evidence-based and outcome-based. The manual provides specific guidelines for managing spinal pain and it integrates the fields of chiropractic, physical therapy, physiatry, and manual medicine for the reader. Rehabilitation of the Spine should prove to be of value to health care providers from the various disciplines involved in the care and rehabilitation of patients having spinal pain. Given the complexity of the topic, the scientific writing style of the authors, and the length of the book, Rehabilitation of the Spine is not a text that can be easily read from beginning to end but rather as an authoritative resource for the practicing clinician.

Reference 1. Taylor H, Curran NM. The Nuprin Pain Report. New York: Louis Harris and Associates, 1985:1–233.

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