This book on spinal pain and movement considers the spine as an integrated system.
Functional changes in one part of the spine, from head to tail, result in adaptive changes in other parts because functions are interconnected.
Pain and associated symptoms in a specific spinal area may not necessarily be the result of altered function in that area, but may instead stem from a more widespread dysfunction.

A tremendous amount of research has been done on spinal pain, particularly in relation to low back pain.
Recently, research on cervical diseases has attracted more and more attention.
Exciting advances in movement control and pain are leading to a shift from the notion that specific anatomical structures cause spinal pain to a more dynamic systems approach that views most spinal disorders as having a diverse pathophysiology driven by interconnected neuromusculoskeletal functions.


This book focuses on the relationship between spinal pain and movement.
Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 explore and advance our understanding of healthy spinal regulation; subsequently, we examine the changes in movement function evident in patients with spinal pain.
Increased understanding will allow clinicians to better characterize postural movement deficits in specific patients, establishing a basis for better differential diagnosis and rehabilitation.

This book examines various currently accepted models of spinal pain and questions the validity of some of them.
The concepts presented in this book emerged as a process that attempted to balance evidence-based practice and clinical evidence.
In some cases, we present variants or alternative models that will serve as a basis for thought and discussion, which we hope will become the subject of further debate.
Other cases represent a paradigm shift: advocating a 'functional approach' - the quality of control of functional kinematic aspects involved in normal movements.
It presents a motor control perspective, suggesting that developmental and adaptive changes in movement underlie most 'spinal pain' syndromes.

The authors attempted to combine current evidence on spinal pain with clinically evident altered motor response patterns.
This is clearly evident when some areas are underregulated and others are overregulated, and the results are predictable.
The author believes that this book will provide information and guidance that will be helpful to all types of clinicians who deal with spinal pain—physiotherapists, osteopaths, chiropractors, orthopedic surgeons, rheumatologists, rehabilitation physicians, manual therapists, and others.
The same goes for people who study or retrain movement—exercise physiologists, Pilates instructors, yoga instructors, etc.
It is the author's special hope that those in the fitness industry, such as personal trainers in gyms, can help move beyond simple "strengthening" or "stretching" to provide more responsible, physiologically and functionally useful programs for clients who may one day become patients.