Back schools in prevention of chronicity

Abstract

This chapter has reviewed the role of back school and educational programmes for the common and non-specific acute and subacute low back pain patient. The following seems to come out of this review. Education is an important part of patient care. However, several questions arise about the content of the education, the selection of patients, the patient compliance to instruction given, how the information is retained, and which outcome measures should be used. It is also important to realize that the back school is a modality or a tool that may be used as an adjunct, but as a sole treatment it seems to have less impact than in combination with other structured or goal-oriented programmes. When a back school is instituted in a hospital or in industry, it requires administrative and budgetary support and a multidisciplinary staff to successfully carry out the programme. The information given must be adapted to the needs of the participants and all members of the team must give the same information to the patient. A poorly structured back school where patients are dumped because the physician or other health care provider has nothing else to offer is a poor solution for the patient, a poor solution for the health care provider, and can only increase the patient's discomfort and health care costs.