Lower back pain effectiveness pilot program in the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County
Are you struggling with lower back pain? If you’re visiting a health centre for this issue, talk to the physiotherapist about joining our lower back pain effectiveness pilot program. The findings of this program will help us create more personalized and effective rehabilitation approaches for lower back pain.
Lower back pain is a leading cause for seeking medical attention at health centres. In January 2024, the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County launched a pilot program to test a new approach for treating patients with lower back pain at health centres, aiming to improve outcomes compared to current methods. The program also seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation questionnaires in gathering meaningful data and measuring treatment effectiveness.
Under this new approach, rehabilitation is planned and implemented based on a risk classification system (STarT Back Screening Tool). The purpose of risk classification is to provide patients with personalized care tailored to individual circumstances. The new operating model is now used in some physiotherapy units. At the same time, other units continue to operate according to the existing model.
The goal of the pilot program is to enhance our understanding of treating lower back pain in primary healthcare and to examine how a risk-based treatment model affects patients’ functional capacity, quality of life, and their need for healthcare services. The findings can be utilized to develop more effective and personalized treatment practices for lower back pain in primary health care.
The pilot is running until the end of 2025, with research funding provided by the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland (RRP).
Further information:
Lower back pain effectiveness pilot program in the Western Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County (luvn.fi)