This is a medical text book aimed at all health care professionals who care for patients with back pain. It is a book for health professionals about the understanding and management of back pain. It has become established as one of the leading examples of a biopsychosocial approach to medicine. It sets out to challenge unsubstantiated beliefs regarding the best way to treat and manage back pain and to create an interdisciplinary debate on the subject. Patients and society are demanding more effective approaches to this huge problem. This requires a radical rethink among professionals about their individual contributions to the problem. This book is about the revolution that is taking place in this area. (Elsevier)