Back schools. Past, present, and future.

Back schools are playing an ever increasing role in the nonsurgical management of patients with low back pain. With different studies reporting that from 50% to 85% of adults seek medical attention for low back pain, there is a need for increasingly effective treatment and rehabilitative programs. The multiple factors that determine a patient's symptom complex are ill defined. The commonly applied therapeutic approaches are not well understood and have been difficult to evaluate. Back schools appear to be empirically effective but are still being critically evaluated.