Back pain: lessons from patient education

Abstract

Education for the patient with back pain is currently being discussed and reassessed. In the 1970s and 1980s, the clinical and scientific communities were convinced that patient education as a sole treatment for back pain was most beneficial. In the 1990s outcome studies, randomized controlled trials, meta analysis and best synthesis evidence have moderated this view. This brief overview summarizes important aspects put forward in recently published articles about the education of patients with non-specific, low back pain in industrialized societies.