Back pain
HEALTH INFORMATION
Understanding and better treating back pain
WHAT WE KNOW
Back pain is very common and can range from a dull, constant ache to a sudden, sharp pain that makes it hard to move. Back pain can start quickly if you fall or lift something too heavy and for others or it can get worse slowly. Luckily most episodes of back pain get better quickly. Keeping active usually speeds up recovery.
For some people with back pain recovery can be slower than usual, often taking several months or longer. Unfortunately the longer someone has back pain the more difficult it is to treat successfully and many do not fully recovery. Treatments usually involve some form of regular exercise, it doesn’t seem to matter which type of exercise or whether it is done at the gym or at home. Preventing people from developing long-term low back pain can be a more effective approach than trying to treat it once they have.
OUR LATEST RESEARCH
PREVENT clinical trial
This NHMRC funded randomised controlled study aims to prevent people with acute low back pain developing chronic low back pain using an optimised pain education approach. In this intervention a specially trained pain clinician provides two one-hour consultations with a patient with acute low back pain to discuss their condition.
