Effective treatment of low back pain by any one group of health care providers hasn't been proven yet. Many researchers and scientists are looking for the best way to treat low back pain. Others hope to find factors linked with nonrecovery as a way to predict and prevent back pain.

There is much to show that psychosocial and emotional factors are a major part of the picture. Patients with high scores on tests for emotional distress and depression are three to five times more likely to have chronic low back pain.

The health care provider who pays attention to the physical and emotional signs and symptoms of low back pain may get the best results.