About this handbook

The Back & Neck Handbook is an independent, plain-English guide to back, neck and sports-injury care. It explains how the spine works, what common aches and injuries are called, which everyday habits people pay attention to, and when pain needs a doctor.

What this handbook is

This is a reference for ordinary readers. Its pages describe anatomy, everyday aches, posture and ergonomics, sports injuries and the main kinds of care in plain words, and they point to public sources for readers who want more detail. Every page is written to stand on its own, so you can start wherever your question is.

The handbook is organised into five sections: understanding pain, how the spine works, everyday habits, sport and activity, and care and safety. The home page lists every page, and the glossary explains the words that come up most often.

What it is not

The handbook is not a clinic, a practice or a service. It offers no appointments, no treatment, no consultations and no referrals, and it has no contact form. It is not medical advice. It does not diagnose, it does not tell you which treatment or practitioner to choose, and it makes no promises about what any exercise, therapy or professional will do for you. It sells nothing and carries no advertising.

It is also not affiliated with any practitioner or organisation. The notice below, which also appears at the foot of every page, sets that out in full:

The Back & Neck Handbook is an independent guide to back, neck and sports-injury care. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Natural Health Chiropractic Sport & Spine or any other chiropractic practice, clinic or practitioner, and it offers no appointments, treatment or referrals. Nothing on this site is medical advice; for pain, injury or any other health concern, talk with a qualified health care provider. It sells nothing.

How the pages are written

Pages describe rather than prescribe. Where a page relies on a fact, it names the organisation it comes from in the text and links to that organisation's public page. The sources are public health and professional bodies, among them MedlinePlus and the specialist institutes of the National Institutes of Health, including the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke; the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; and the patient pages of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. MedlinePlus, for example, offers a plain-language overview of back pain that is a good next step from many pages here.

The handbook avoids statistics and numbers of every kind, because figures lifted from their context are easy to misread and quickly go out of date. It avoids recommending products, brands or particular practitioners, and it does not tell stories about individual people.

How to use it

If you have a particular question, the home page and the section links at the top of every page are the quickest way in. If you are simply curious, the anatomy pages in the "How the spine works" section are a good place to begin, because the other pages build on the words they explain. If you are worried about pain right now, go straight to the page on when to see a doctor. And if you are about to see a professional, the page of questions to ask before a first visit may help you make the most of the conversation. Every page ends with links to related pages in the same section.

Who it is for

The pages are written for adults: people who work at desks or on their feet, people who lift and carry for a living, gardeners, weekend players and runners, and older adults who want to keep moving. They are not written for children and do not cover pregnancy.

Safety first

Every page that discusses pain includes a short reminder of the signs that need prompt medical care, and the When to see a doctor page gathers them in one place. If you or someone near you may have a serious neck or back injury after a crash, a dive or a fall, do not move them; call your local emergency number.

Corrections

Public health guidance changes as research moves on. The handbook aims to describe its sources accurately and in context; if a page falls short of that, the source it names is the place to check the current guidance.