Mr. Sam Cooper has had persistent low back pain for a number of years. Six weeks ago he came to his Primary Care Physician, Fred Smith, M. D., during a period of severe pain. You can review the history of the last six weeks in Sam's experience through the tabs above.

Mr. Cooper: Yes, I'm very frustrated. I'm so sick of my back hurting. It's getting difficult to do my work. I can't sleep at night. I've gotten really crabby with my family. The medications are making me feel nauseated, and I really don't want to take them anymore. Isn't there anything else we can do?

Dr. Smith: Well, yes. I have been thinking - there are various different alternatives for helping you with your back pain. Since you have been thoroughly evaluated by the Orthopedic surgeon and don't have a surgical problem; and since you have had physical therapy for 4 weeks with only minimal improvement, I think it's time to consider some other options. I would like us to look into three different approaches that have been found to help patients with low back pain - Chiropractic, traditional Chinese Medicine with acupuncture, and a mind-body approach. In your case let's try Hypnosis as the mind-body technique. Each of these therapies are quite different from each other. We will look into each of these options together and see which might be best for you.

You can follow Sam along on the three visits suggested by Dr. Smith by clicking on the menu items on the left under Consults.

After the visits, please go to the Interlude to Think menu item.