These statistics have led to the mistaken belief that most acute back pain patients recover quickly and therefore require minimal treatment.
Recovery depends on outcomes besides just return to work.
For instance, persistent symptoms or activity intolerances have both been demonstrated to remain present in a substantial number of patients even one year after the onset of an acute low back pain episode. Data from Cherkin et al. The following is a list of yellow flag risk factors of a prolonged recovery that have been prospectively identified. In the next issue, I will discuss the questionnaire. Once yellow flags have been identified, treatment strategies incorporating reassurance, activity modification advice, remobilization and reactivation, and behavioral modification have shown to be the most successful.