The second edition of this handbook emphasizes practicality--useful information for the primary care clinician for arriving at the correct diagnosis and treatment, with tips on when to refer the patient. The outline format allows busy clinicians to quickly obtain practical information that directly affects treatment decisions. Therefore, the chapters summarize relevant clinical information and purposely avoid exhaustive reviews. Section headings are: Evaluation, Treatment Options, and Special Populations and Problems. Seven chapters new to the second edition are: Evidence-based Spine Care, Epidemiology, Risk Factors of Lumbar Spine Pain, Manipulation of the Lower Back, Delayed Recovery from Lumbar Spine Injury, Lumbar Spine Pain in Women, and Complementary Care Outline format allows quick and easy access to information Liberal use of bold highlights topic headings Each chapter begins with a list of key summary points and clinical pearls New chapters include Epidemiology of Low Back Pain, Acute vs. Chronic Pain, Manipulation, implantable Technology, Percutaneous Intradiscal Therapies, and Evidence-Based Medicine. Special focus on cost-effective intervention