Persistent back pain

The rubric complementary medicine covers a variety of approaches that may seem alike only in their being outside conventional care and training. We have asked experienced practitioners to present their own pieces of the jigsaw, realising that these clinical fragments, when seen together, create excitement but also confusion. Of course, this forum is not intended to be a comprehensive review of relevant complementary treatments, and often the individual approaches to clinical problems will appear totally unrelated, while their apparent effectiveness stretches the biomedical model and conventional research methodology beyond their capacity. With this in mind, we intend that forthcoming articles and reviews will expand on the therapies themselves, and discuss the evidence supporting them.