American Family Physician is the scientific journal of the American Academy of Family Physicians (the AAFP). The AAFP is the organization that oversees the business of family medicine, and represents the thousands of American family physicians. Essentially, the AAFP is loosely thought of as the family docs’ union. A huge part of its mission is to guarantee family physicians are competent, knowledgeable, and serve the public (their patients) well. This boils down to promoting and providing methods of continuing medical education in many forms.
One of those “forms” is American Family Physician. It is just one vehicle, but monthly it publishes articles covering every aspect of the diagnosis and treatment of various medical problems. A recent example is the thorough discussion of “Heat-related Illnesses.” The authors are all academy members, and many are faculty from one of the hundreds of Family Medicine residency programs nationwide. I addition, AFP publishes quizzes, clinical scenarios , letters-to-the-editor, and Clinical Answers where new uses for old drugs, new diagnostic procedures, and ways to make a diagnosis are discussed.
In the February 2026 issue of AFP, the Clinical Answers section had three subjects I felt were pertinent and of interest to readers of DrGOpines.com. The first of these was a diagnostic recommendation for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. When preparing to treat CTS with a corticosteroid injection, instead of locating the site of injection by using anatomic landmarks, a better procedure is to find the ideal spot by using ultrasound. The site of nerve compression can be seen. That technique has consistently caused more effective symptom relief over 12 weeks post injection.
The next recommendation says for patients with coronary artery disease or heart failure, recommended psychological interventions are “safe and effective for improving depression, anxiety, and mental health-related quality of life at 6-12 months” after onset of the problem.
The last recommendation pertains to patients suspected of having a urinary tract infection. Most patients with burning during urination, should have a urinalysis ASAP after symptoms are recognized, especially for patients with a history of recurrent UTI’s. This allows patients to be treated promptly and more effectively.
Another section of AFP is the “Cochrane for Clinicians” articles. These are essays written by AAFP members who are experts in a certain area of practice. One recent example is the essay titled “Non-pharmacologic and Non-surgical Treatment for Low Back Pain.” Here they discuss a multidisciplinary, non-drug, non-surgical approach to treating acute low back pain. Methods such as acupuncture, exercise, physical therapy, and spinal manipulation are included. These articles discuss pros and cons and compare and contrast various treatments to discover a safe, effective method that supports their hypothesis.
Occasionally, AFP presents research-oriented information, but not in the same vein as the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) or the Annals of Internal Medicine. There is always something in AFP that catches my attention and provides review for a subject/problem I see regularly. It’s a very valuable asset provided free of charge for AAFP members.
References: AFP Clinical Answers Am Fam Phys 2026 February;113(2):126.
Cochrane for Clinicians Leggit J, Pawelczyk B. Nonpharmacologic and Nonsurgical Treatment of Low Back Pain in Adults Am Fam Phys 2026 February;113(2):128-129.
