Almost everyone experiences back pain at least once in lifetime. A quarter of Australians report low back pain at any one time. It is the leading cause of disability worldwide and results in substantial personal and societal costs. Low back pain costs the Australian health system over 9 billion dollars each year. Over 90% of all low back pain problems cannot be attributed to a serious cause (such as fracture, cancer, infection) and are termed as non-specific low back pain. Low back pain can be classified as acute (less than three months in duration) and chronic (low back pain lasting three months or longer).
Most people with non-specific back pain recover within six weeks. Staying active, getting informed and avoiding bed rest usually speeds up recovery. However, many people continue to experience chronic low back pain for months or even years and some are unable to continue their work. It is now widely accepted that changes in the nervous system including the brain, play an important role in pain persisting long after tissues have healed.
In general, non-drug interventions such as exercise, cognitive behavior therapy and mindfulness are recommended for the management of chronic low back pain rather than drug and surgical approaches. However, non-drug interventions for chronic low back pain still offer limited effects to reduce pain and disability.
About our research
The Centre for Pain IMPACT aims to understand why some people with low back pain do not recover and develop chronic low back pain. We are also developing and testing new interventions to prevent and treat chronic low back pain. See below links to our past and current projects in low back pain.
Research from our Centre has been included and cited in several international clinical practice guidelines.
Participate in our future research
To participate in back pain research in the future, please leave your details below:
Community presentations
Prof James McAuley, Senior Research Scientist and Director of the Centre for Pain IMPACT at NeuRA, has a strong philosophy of taking knowledge obtained by research beyond the confines of academia and into the community. To achieve this, James and his research team have been giving presentations to community groups on their latest research and scientific findings. These free, one-hour presentations are popular and well received. If you are interested in booking Prof McAuley and his team for a presentation or for further information, please contact our team: pain@neura.edu.au.