Abstract

Back schools are a form of clinical intervention which have been used for the last 15 years in the rehabilitation of patients suffering from back disorders. This research project will experimentally evaluate the effectiveness of back schools in reducing relapses and the duration of work absence and functional incapacity.

A three-year double-blind randomized prospective study was performed of a population of 170 patients suffering from acute-onset lumbar back pain. Statistical analysis of the data is in progress, and will compare population characteristics, duration of initial work absence, number and duration of relapses, physical and functional indices, and consumption of health care services observed in this study to previously reported values.