After injuring her back in a car accident, Pat Skiba, 45, of Shelton, Conn., lived with the kind of pain most of us couldn’t imagine. She survived on painkillers and without sleep. Finally she forced her doctor to take her pain seriously and fought a one-woman battle to find relief Read the rest of this entry »

Low back pain is one of the most common medical complaints, so family doctors see a lot of back pain patients. But if four to six weeks of painkillers and exercise therapy doesn’t help a patient, it may be time for a specialist. Many insurance companies require that you get a referral from a family doctor or another primary care physician before they will cover the cost of a specialist. Read the rest of this entry »