Predicting Low Back Pain Outcomes: Suggestions for Future Directions.

Abstract

Chronic low back pain (LBP) is a common and costly musculoskeletal pain condition, and effective treatment of LBP represents a significant goal of physical therapists. Establishing a targeted track of treatment for patients with LBP at high risk for chronicity that is focused on modifiable prognostic factors could have significant personal and societal benefit. Such an approach would require that clinicians accurately predict the patients who are at an elevated risk of developing chronic LBP in the early stages of the condition. In this Viewpoint, we consider the strengths and limitations of existing literature and propose suggestions that may lead to the development of parsimonious, cost-effective, and accurate predictive models of LBP chronicity. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2017;47(9):588-592. doi:10.2519/jospt.2017.0607.