Self-Management Programmes for Spinal Health

Empowering Patients to Manage Persistent Pain

When pain becomes persistent, sometimes there is little that doctors can do, and it becomes up to patients to learn to manage their condition to ensure that they have the best quality of life possible. Interventions that aim to train patients to do this better are called self-management programmes. These programmes are often run by healthcare professionals together with tutors who are patients themselves.

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Group-Based Self-Management Programmes for Spinal Health

These programmes are often run in groups, so that patients can learn from each-other and also develop social networks that will continue to support them after the programme itself has finished. There may also, increasingly, be components presented on the internet, for a patient to learn alone, or to interact with others remotely.

Components of Self-Management Programmes for Spinal Health

The aim of self-management interventions is to increase participants' skills and knowledge and to enable them to use these enhanced skills in aspects of their lives beyond the intervention. Components of the intervention will vary, but typically they will include education about pain, about activity and physical movement, training in relaxation techniques, information about psychological elements that affect pain, such as mood and beliefs, and personal goal setting.

EUROSPINE is a society of spine specialists of various disciplines with a large knowledge of spine pathologies. All well-known and accepted treatment modalities for spine pathologies are represented by the members of the society. However, the Society cannot accept any responsibility for the use of the information provided; the user and their health care professionals must retain responsibility for their health care management.