Editor's Note, Volume 12 Issue 1

D’Arcy Little, MD, CCFP, FCFP, FRCPC Medical Director, JCCC and HealthPlexus.NET

I am pleased to introduce the first issue of the Journal of Current Clinical Care for 2022!

Drs. José M. Orenday-Barraza, Maria José Cavagnaro, Leah Hillier, Eric John Crawford, Brandon Hirsch, Ali A. Baaj, Robert A. Ravinsky and Conner Joseph Clay and Leeann Qubain present Part 1 of A Practical Guide to Managing Low Back Pain in the Primary Care Setting: Epidemiology, Pathoanatomy, Clinical Evaluation and Triage. Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common presenting complaints in the primary care setting, with significant economic implications and impairment of quality of life. Effective treatment of low back pain can frequently be delivered in the primary care setting. Knowledge of common pain generators, and recognition of pain patterns based on the history and physical exam helps guide the treatment of LBP without the need for excessive resource utilization. The majority of patients presenting with LBP can be confidently treated with targeted conservative management, frequently obviating the need for advanced imaging and diagnostic investigations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had lasting impacts on our lives and in her article Passing through the Pandemic, Dr. Marina Abdel Malak explores issues such as access to healthcare, financial stability, socialization, burnout, and mental health that have been highlighted by the pandemic. The article briefly sheds light on some of the challenges we have faced as communities—patients and healthcare providers alike—and ends with a message of hope that stumbling blocks can be used as stepping stones for lasting, impactful change.

Dr. Michael Gordon, Emeritus Professor of Medicine from the University of Toronto offers two medical narratives. The first covers a timely issue and our Liberty in the Time of Covid. The second narrative, Handing in My Numbers is a personal account of Dr. Gordon's retirement from 50 years of practising medicine amid a serious health struggle.
I hope you enjoy this latest edition. Please consider commenting or submitting an article of your own.