title: Effectiveness of the back school and mckenzie techniques in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain: a protocol of a randomised controlled trial.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chronic low back pain is a highly prevalent condition, which is associated with high direct and indirect costs to the society. Although this condition is highly prevalent, it is still extremely difficult to treat. Two potentially useful treatments for patients with chronic low back pain are called the McKenzie and Back School treatment programs. These programs have good biological plausibility, are widely available and have a modest cost. Although these treatments are already available for patients, the evidence that supports their use is largely based on low quality methodological studies. Therefore, a high-quality randomised controlled trial is required to compare, for the first time, the effectiveness of these treatments in patients with chronic low back pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and forty-eight patients will be randomly allocated to a four-week treatment program based upon the McKenzie or Back School principles. Clinical outcomes (pain intensity, disability, quality of life, and trunk flexion range of motion) will be obtained at follow-up appointments at 1, 3 and 6 months after randomisation. The data will be collected by an assessor who will be blinded to the group allocation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This will be the first study aimed to compare the McKenzie and Back School approaches in patients with chronic low back pain. The results of this trial may help in the decision-making process of allied health providers for the treatment of chronic low back pain and reduce the health-related costs of this condition.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ACTRN12610000435088.
authors.affiliation: Masters Program in Physical Therapy, Universidade Cidade de São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alessandra N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.forename: Francine Lb
authors.initials: FL
authors.lastname: Gondo
authors.forename: Renata A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Fábio N
authors.initials: FN
authors.lastname: Cyrillo
authors.forename: Tatiane M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Luciola C M
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.forename: Leonardo O P
authors.initials: LO
authors.lastname: Costa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017116:Low Back Pain / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D055815:Young Adult