It has become a reality in the political arena, regardless of the issue – be it the environment, immigration, or health care. There is always an 800 pound gorilla in the room that nobody wants to talk about for any number of reasons. Taking a hard line with the gorilla - “playing hardball”, if you will – can be a perilous task indeed.

It is pretty tough to play hardball with that 800 pound gorilla in the room. The gorilla has a strong fastball, throws a great curve, and has lots of power behind it. It has a cute smile, that gorilla, just before it decides to tear your head off.

The health care system has historically had physicians in the role of “gatekeepers”, in which the physician directs all care for the patient. But the health care world is changing. Patients want access to care, and they want to do so with any number of providers. They want direct access to chiropractors, advanced nurse practitioners, and physical therapists, among others.

Enter the 800 pound Direct Access gorilla, known as the American Medical Association, and it’s Scope Of Practice Partnership. George Orwell would be proud: if you are a non-physician health care provider, Big Brother is watching your every move.

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The Erwin Center in Austin is affectionately known as "The Drum" - for all the obvious reasons. The home of the University of Texas Longhorns' men's and women's basketball teams looks like, well, a drum - nothing more, nothing less. It is what you would call a highly un-original moniker, to say the least!

But the Drum was rockin' last night as OU came to town.

In Austin, unless you are from Oklahoma, you learn to love to hate OU. Any event that brings together the schools from either side of the Red River will always bring with it a high level of excitement and passion. They hate us -and we hate them. Pretty simple stuff, actually - and perhaps one of the greatest collegiate rivalries in the United States (in Canada, the equivalent would probably be Queen's University and McGill, but I digress).Though the emphasis has always been on the Red River Rivalry in football, it certainly extends to all sports.

Last night was no different. The Texas-Oklahoma game is a must-see every season. I have now seen 19 of them over the years, and they are always a blast. It doesn't matter where either team is in conference - it's always a must-win, bragging rights game.

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I always have to chuckle when I hear the phrase "covert war". And here's why ...

Covert [adj. koh-vert, kuhv-ert; n. kuhv-ert, koh-vert] - concealed, secret, disguised

If the media can report on it (at will) then what makes it "covert"? There's not much disguise or secrecy there!!

And once again, we've found ourselves in yet another covert operation. In a remote part of the world. Fighting a moving target. Hmmm ... that Santayana quote "those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it" rings louder than ever.

Now don't get me wrong - I think there is a highly justifiable war on terror. This assumes, of course, that there are more nations than us involved and that they all pull together and pull their own weight in the equation. I think they call that a "united front". This becomes all the more important when this battle is waged inside another country without the specific goal of "occupation". Suddenly, there is no need for phraseology like "covert", since we're all in it together and we're all fighting the same enemy.

Case in point: Afghanistan ... and Pakistan.

And from this morning's news, a classic ...

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The numbers are a little staggering. Eighty percent of the population will eventually suffer from non-specific low back pain. Most of those people will have back pain that presents with no apparent mechanism of injury.

The reality of most clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of low back pain is pretty simple – don’t do the things that aggravate it, do the things that make it feel better, stay active, and do not take any more than a couple of days of bed rest (if any). Though that doesn’t appear to be any sort of rocket science, the majority of the research on low back pain leads us to these simple conclusions.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a solution that would be successful with a large number of people, provide consistent results, and focus on self care strategies? Better yet, let’s make that solution cost-effective as well, if at all possible.

How does a $29.99 solution sound to you?

With this in mind, let’s look at three simple strategies and principles that can be used on a daily basis to decrease low back pain.

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