Resources
Informed by our extensive research, our resources have been designed to help clinicians and patients better manage low back pain.
Explore our resources below.
Understanding my low back pain and whether I need imaging
Low back pain is a common disorder affecting up to four out of five people at some time during their life. Medical imaging is commonly used to help manage low back pain even though the underlying cause of back pain cannot usually be seen in imaging.
The Understanding my low back pain and whether I need imaging booklet was developed using previous research and feedback from practitioners and patients. Designed as a free clinical resource for healthcare practitioners treating patients with low back pain, the booklet can help these practitioners:
- reduce unnecessary medical imaging
- improve communication between clinicians and patients
- aid patient education and understanding about low back pain
- improve low back pain management.
The booklet was developed by a team of researchers at:
- Macquarie University
- Sydney University
- Queens University (Canada).
The work was led by Dr Hazel Jenkins.
The booklet has been designed to complement a standard consultation and should only be used with patients with acute, uncomplicated low back pain, with no signs or symptoms of serious pathology (eg cancer or infection).
The booklet and associated resources are available for viewing and download.
- Digital booklet and associated instructions
- Print-ready booklet
- Practitioner information sheet
- Practitioner information video
Contact Dr Hazel Jenkins for more information.
Low Back Pain Curriculum Content Standards (LBP-CCS)
These standards have been designed for academic programs that provide entry-level education for healthcare professionals. These standards aim to guide the development or review of curriculum content related to the management of low back pain in primary care.
The standards were developed by a team of academics, clinicians, consumers and researchers, including representatives from 11 different countries and across a range of healthcare professions.
Steering group
- Dr Hazel Jenkins (Macquarie University)
- Professor Mark Hancock (Macquarie University)
- Dr Benjamin Brown (Macquarie University)
- Dr Mary O’Keefe (Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health)
- Associate Professor Niamh Moloney (University of Auckland, New Zealand)
- Professor Chris Maher (Institute of Musculoskeletal Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health)
Working group
| Member | Specialty/area | Country |
|---|---|---|
| Fiona Blyth | Medicine – general practice | Australia |
| Dawn Carnes | Osteopathy | England |
| Chad Cook | Physiotherapy | America |
| Ben Darlow | Physiotherapy, primary health care | New Zealand |
| Renee de Ruijter | Physiotherapy | Switzerland |
| Julie Fritz | Physiotherapy | America |
| Brona Fullen | Physiotherapy | Ireland |
| Doug Gross | Physiotherapy | Canada |
| Jill Hayden | Chiropractic | Canada |
| Jonathan Hill | Physiotherapy | England |
| Jaro Karppinen | Medicine – physical and rehabilitation medicine | Finland |
| Greg Kawchuk | Chiropractic | Canada |
| Alice Kongsted | Chiropractic | Denmark |
| Deborah Kopansky-Giles | Chiropractic | Canada |
| Henrik Hein Lauridsen | Chiropractic | Denmark |
| Michael Lee | Chiropractic, physiotherapy | Australia |
| Quinette Louw | Physiotherapy | South Africa |
| Kerry Mace | Consumer | Australia |
| James McAuley | Psychology | Australia |
| Andrew McLachlan | Pharmacy | Australia |
| Chris Mercer | Physiotherapy | England |
| Peter O’Sullivan | Physiotherapy | Australia |
| Sue Reid | Physiotherapy | Australia |
| Anna Ryan | Medicine chiropractic | Australia |
| Paolo Sanzo | Physiotherapy | Canada |
| Edward Vresilovic | Medicine – orthopaedic surgery | America |
| Arnold Wong | Physiotherapy | Hong Kong |
Back pain Knowledge and beliefs Survey (BacKS)
Patient-centred interventions are commonly recommended in clinical guidelines for the management of low back pain. Although identifying people’s knowledge and beliefs about pain is relevant to patient-centred treatment, a recent systematic review conducted by our group identified that there was no high-quality contemporary evidence-based measurement tool available to quantify knowledge and beliefs about low back pain
In response, BacKS was developed by the centre in 2024. The survey is a 20-item questionnaire which aims to assess people’s knowledge and beliefs about low back pain, offering insights into biomedical understanding and self-care practices. By ensuring accurate and meaningful assessment of low back pain knowledge and beliefs, BacKS can inform and enhance individualised and patient-centred pain education treatments.
BacKS was developed and extensively tested following the COnsensus-based Standards for the selection of health Measurement INstruments (COSMIN) guidelines. BacKS items were developed based on:
- current clinical guidelines for the management of low back pain
- a Delphi study which identified key messages for people with low back pain
- input from consumers and experts during focus groups.
BacKS measurement properties include:
- content validity
- structural validity
- internal consistency
- test-retest reliability
- measurement error
- construct validity via hypothesis-testing.
Interpretability, feasibility and the aforementioned measurement properties were tested and confirmed. The development and measurement properties assessment of the original version of the BacKS is described in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
All use of BacKS requires licensing.
Non-commercial use
For non-commercial use, BacKS is freely available but requires a licence. Register for non-commercial use and obtain access to the BacKS. This applies to:
- non-commercial clinical (eg for direct patient care or within a healthcare setting such as hospitals and clinics)
- non-commercial research (eg university research projects, government-funded studies or non-profit organisation research).
Commercial use
Commercial use requires a paid licence, and agreements will be developed on a case-by-case basis. Contact Dr Leticia Corrêa for more information about commercial use licensing. This applies to (but is not limited to):
- developing for-profit products or services based on the survey data
- incorporating the survey into a commercial research project
- marketing materials that aims to develop and sell a product.
The development of the BacKS was funded by an International Macquarie University Research Excellence Scholarship (iMQRES) for Leticia Corrêa. The copyright (©2024) of the BacKS tool and associated materials is owned by Macquarie University.
The survey may not be modified. Registered users have permission to utilise the questionnaire in the original format or to create an electronic version of the questionnaire for data collection, as long as the electronic version is appropriately identified, including:
- reference to the original source
- appropriate copyright acknowledgements
- a link to this web page.
We will review requests to translate the BacKS on a case-by-case basis considering the following conditions:
- The translation process will be conducted following established guidelines
- The translation process must include a back translation into English, which the original author will review and provide feedback to ensure accuracy in the translation of concepts
- To ensure the accuracy and integrity of the questionnaire, any research involving BacKS translation into other languages must include the original author as a collaborator. This collaboration is essential to maintain the original intent and quality standards of the questionnaire
- The translation version of the BacKS will be freely available for non-commercial purposes and distributed internationally via the BacKS website
- Translators are free to use the formatted version or collect data using online tools as long as the electronic version is appropriately identified, including reference to the original source, appropriate copyright acknowledgements, and a link to the BacKS website (this page).
Note: The translator is required to sign an Assignment of IP in Translation deed which will be provided during the translation process.
To advise of your request to translate the questionnaires and seek formal permission from the author, contact Dr Leticia Corrêa.