Controversy. Low back school. Education or exercise?

Abstract

Few interventions have conclusively changed the natural history of low back pain with respect to recovery once an episode has begun, or have prevented future recurrence. Variations of the low back school, an educational approach, have become increasingly popular but their efficacy remains controversial. Dr. Hall is emphatic that patient education is a less than perfect but nonetheless an important approach. Dr. Hadler believes that these programs re-enforce the misconception that low back pain is an injury rather than a commonly occurring life event, such as the flu, and should be handled but not overtreated. He offers a more tempered opinion.