Is the Pain Stages of Change Questionnaire (PSOCQ) a useful tool for predicting participation in a self-management programme? Further evidence of validity, on a sample of UK pain clinic patients.

Background: In the context of finite health resources, encouraging self-management of chronic conditions is important. Indeed, it is a key priority in the UK. An increasing number of self-management programmes are becoming available.

The impact of social deprivation on chronic back pain outcomes.

Chronic low back pain is the commonest cause of disability for adults of working age. It is a complex problem frequently encapsulated as a bio-psychosocial issue, yet the social element has received less attention than it deserves, particularly for low-income and socially deprived patients. Rehabilitation programmes are often based on increasing function through cognitive and behavioural techniques, which, for many reasons, may be less effective for the socially disadvantaged.

A randomized trial comparing a group exercise programme for back pain patients with individual physiotherapy in a severely deprived area.

Purpose: To compare a group exercise programme known as the Back to Fitness programme with individual physiotherapy for patients with non-specific low back pain from a materially deprived area.

Method: This was a randomized controlled trial including 237 physiotherapy patients with back pain lasting more than six weeks. Participants were allocated to either the Back to Fitness programme or to individual physiotherapy, and followed up at three months and 12 months after randomization.