REVIEWED BY DAVID M. KINCHEN
Next to headaches, back pain is the most common ailment reported by patients to doctors, writes Jack Stern, M.D., Ph.D. in his extremely readable “Ending Back Pain: 5 Powerful Steps to Diagnose, Understand, and Treat Your Ailing Back” (Avery Trade, published by the Penguin Group (U.S.A), 320 pages, $18.00, bibliography, index, illustrations).
She’s not mentioned on the title page, but Dr. Stern recognizes the writing talent of Kristin Loberg, his writing partner, in the acknowledgments at the end of the book. Together, Stern and Loberg have produced just about the best book on all facets of back pain I’ve read.
“Ending Back Pain” is written by a surgeon, but surgery is not always indicated once a diagnosis is complete, Dr. Stern writes. He presents a totally new paradigm for treating back pain in a book that also discusses ways of treating back pain other than surgery or prescription drugs.
Dr. Stern writes that virtually every American will suffer from back pain at some point. A neurosurgeon and professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, he brings relief to these millions of sufferers (including himself) who literally ache for help.
Based on the latest scientific data, Dr. Stern developed a five-step solution with a multidisciplinary, holistic perspective that’s been missing from conventional back pain wisdom:
▪Step One: Unlock your back’s unique pain code
▪Step Two: Prepare to work with health care professionals
▪Step Three: Ensure proper diagnosis
▪Step Four: Embrace various pathways to healing
▪Step Five: Live a life that supports a strong, healthy back
If you have experienced back pain — or have a relative or friend who has — get this book, study it and use it to help conquer the pain. Somewhere in the dozens of case studies Dr. Stern presents, you’ll find one that fits your circumstances. 
Or at least educate you so you and your physician can chart the proper course of treatment.
Dr. Jack Stern
About the Author
Jack Stern, M.D., Ph.D., is a board-certified neurosurgeon specializing in spinal surgery, and cofounder of Spine Options, one of America’s first facilities committed to nonsurgical care of back and neck pain. Dr. Stern is on the clinical faculty at Weill Cornell Medical College and has published numerous peer- and non peer– reviewed medical articles. He lives and practices in White Plains, Westchester County, New York.
2010 video of Stern discussing back pain:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln-LD8-7m-c
davidkinchen 