Can Back Pain Prevention Programs Reduce Ecomonic Losses From Lower Back Pain Injuries?
Lower back pain (LBP), a common injury in Western society, has a significant economic impact as well as personal cost. In the United States alone, LBP has a total direct and indirect cost of $50 billion per year. Researchers have been trying to find ways to lower the economic impact of back injuries. Earlier studies have indicated that early intervention with biopsychosocial education and treatment are more effective in aiding in recovery and maintaining general health than is the mantra of staying active, as is still recommended in some guidelines. In this cluster, randomized, controlled trial, researchers evaluated if a prevention program for LBP had an effect on economic costs. The researchers recruited 489 workers from nine companies who were randomized to the study group (258) or to the control group (231). The researchers chose a multidimensional LBP prevention program based on integrating three preventative measures for the study group: three back training study sessions, immedi
