Editor's Note: Beginning in this issue, we will present an interesting and thought provoking quote every issue which has caught out attention.
This week's quote comes from Nikolai Bogduk's article "Common complaint which lacks definite treatment" printed in the Australian Dr. Weekly Aug. 21, 1992.
Nicolai Bogduk is an anatomy professor, and director of the Cervical Spine Research Unit at the University of Newcastle and Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Newcastle.
"Neck pain is a common complaint in general practice, with a point-prevalence of more than 10 percent, yet it is a topic that is poorly covered, if at all, in undergraduate curricula and continuing medical education.
"For other medical problems, practitioners are trained in established methods of assessment and options for management, but no equivalent is available for neck pain. Basically, we don't know how to treat the problem, and without a validated approach, practitioners must either adopt measure they find by trial and error, or believe in measures they are told work. They many rely on referral, but even specialists are not necessarily better equipped."
