Editor's Note, Volume 7 Issue 3

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

I am pleased to introduce the next issue of the Journal of Current Clinical Care.

Dr. Julia Alleyne presents Back Education: Does it Work for Patients? Back education or "Back Schools" are used both as a method of prevention and, in conjunction with traditional rehabilitation and exercise programs, as a component in treatment of recurrent or persistent low back pain. It is challenging to evaluate the effectiveness of this educational effort. Models have varied from brochures, booklets and simple office conversations to formal scheduled classes. Content has ranged from purely mechanical instruction to complex cognitive behavioural therapy. Essential to success is the ability to integrate the instructions into activities of daily living. The composition of those lessons remains the subject of continuing debate.

In their article, Five Dermatologic Diagnoses at Your Fingertips, Drs. Rebeca Pinca and Joseph M. Lam from the University of British Columbia, examine five dermatologic diagnoses that can be made at point of care by palpation or physical manoeuvres, potentially reducing unnecessary investigations, such as biopsies.

In her article, Movement as Medicine in Osteoarthritis, Dr. Zahra Bardai from McMaster University, reviews osteoarthritis as a prevalent health condition that affects millions of people worldwide. Increasingly, there has been a growing body of international recommendations emphasizing non-pharmacologic interventions using physical activity to modify joint mechanics. Discussion focuses on pathophysiology of joint mechanics as it relates to physical activity as well as the use of specific clinical strategies that can be incorporated into physical activity counseling in osteoarthritis management.

Dr. Mchael Gordon, from the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care in Toronto offers A Few Degrees of Separation. Stories are important when it comes to medical care. Physicians must, of course, use the best available medical knowledge to benefit their patients, but it's also important to find the humanistic aspects of care and build on them, in order to foster human relationships. The importance of learning the patient's personal story is key to achieving this goal.

I hope you enjoy this latest edition. Please consider commenting or submitting an article of your own.