In the first systematic review , the patients ' or HCPs ' overall judgment about the likely evolution of LBP was the factor most strongly linked to poor outcome , with predictive validity similar to that of multidimensional scales .
This result may be explained by the implicit aggregation of many prognostic factors underlying this judgment and suggests the relevance of considering the patients from biopsychosocial and longitudinal points of view .
It is unlikely that any intervention focusing on a single factor would ever fit the needs of most patients ; interventions targeting determinants from several fields ( mainly psychosocial , biomechanical , and occupational ) may be more relevant .
Finally , in the third study , the prevalence of psychosocial comorbidity in chronic LBP patients was not found to be significantly higher than in other patients consulting in primary care .
Rather than specifically screening for psychosocial conditions , this suggests taking into account any potential comorbidity in patients with chronic LBP , as in other patients .
As this condition is illustrative of many situations encountered in primary care , the strategies proposed here may benefit most patients consulting in this setting
Non-specific low back pain ( LBP ) affects many people and has major socio-economic consequences .
Traditional therapeutic strategies , mainly focused on biomechanical factors , have had moderate and short-term impact .
Certain psychosocial factors have been linked to poor prognosis of LBP and they are increasingly considered as promising targets for management of LBP .
Primary health care providers ( HCPs ) are involved in most of the management of people with LBP and they are skilled in providing comprehensive care , including consideration of psychosocial dimensions .
This review aims to discuss three pieces of recent research focusing on psychosocial issues in LBP patients in primary care .
In a controlled trial training general practitioners and occupational physicians to collaborate did not influence sickleave of patients with low back pain.
OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a training to increase collaboration between general practitioners and occupational health physicians in the treatment of patients with low back pain ( LBP ) because more collaboration might improve a patient 's recovery and shorten sick leave . METHODS In a controlled trial , the intervention in one region was compared with usual care in a control region . Participating physicians enrolled patients with LBP on sick leave for 3 - 12 weeks . Patients filled out three question naires : at inclusion , at 3 months , and at 6 months . Information on sick leave was gathered from occupational health services . All analyses were performed on an intention-to-treat basis . RESULTS Fifty-six patients with LBP were enrolled in each region . There was little collaboration between physicians during the project . Patients in the intervention region returned to work significantly later ( P=.005 ) but were significantly more satisfied with their occupational health physician ( P=.01 ) . No differences were found between the intervention and control patients for pain , disability , quality of life , and medical consumption . CONCLUSION Our study does not show a positive effect of the training to increase collaboration between general practitioners and occupational health physicians . The training may not have improved collaboration enough to influence the prognosis of LBP
In the first systematic review , the patients ' or HCPs ' overall judgment about the likely evolution of LBP was the factor most strongly linked to poor outcome , with predictive validity similar to that of multidimensional scales .
This result may be explained by the implicit aggregation of many prognostic factors underlying this judgment and suggests the relevance of considering the patients from biopsychosocial and longitudinal points of view .
It is unlikely that any intervention focusing on a single factor would ever fit the needs of most patients ; interventions targeting determinants from several fields ( mainly psychosocial , biomechanical , and occupational ) may be more relevant .
Finally , in the third study , the prevalence of psychosocial comorbidity in chronic LBP patients was not found to be significantly higher than in other patients consulting in primary care .
Rather than specifically screening for psychosocial conditions , this suggests taking into account any potential comorbidity in patients with chronic LBP , as in other patients .
As this condition is illustrative of many situations encountered in primary care , the strategies proposed here may benefit most patients consulting in this setting
Non-specific low back pain ( LBP ) affects many people and has major socio-economic consequences .
Traditional therapeutic strategies , mainly focused on biomechanical factors , have had moderate and short-term impact .
Certain psychosocial factors have been linked to poor prognosis of LBP and they are increasingly considered as promising targets for management of LBP .
Primary health care providers ( HCPs ) are involved in most of the management of people with LBP and they are skilled in providing comprehensive care , including consideration of psychosocial dimensions .
This review aims to discuss three pieces of recent research focusing on psychosocial issues in LBP patients in primary care .