Course Description:

The management of Non-Specific Low Back has been a challenge for clinicians and societies for years. Historically in the U.S., treatment has utilized a step-wise model of care where less intensive and expensive treatments are initiated early in care and more intensive and expensive testing and interventions should be reserved for those who fail to respond to initial treatment efforts. There is emerging evidence that results and decreased costs of back care can be enhanced through a risk stratified model. The use of this model has also been shown to be more effective in the allocation of healthcare resources and save costs. This course looks at the evolution of a risk stratified model of care by presenting the evidence supporting the approach and informs clinicians in the use of tools to stratify the risk for persistent pain and associated disability. Additionally, participants will become familiar with psychosocial predictors for impaired recovery of non-specific low back pain and how to match evidence based treatments to specific risk factors to mitigate risk and improve recovery.