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Arthur P. Smith, If Not Now, When? The Case for Treating Nonspecific Back Pain with Psychosocial Interventions, Health & Social Work, Volume 38, Issue 3, August 2013, Pages 188–191, https://doi.org/10.1093/hsw/hlt009
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Because of the overwhelming prevalence of back pain, and the fact that it is neither a disease nor a disorder, but a symptom, nearly anyone in the health care field might be involved in treating it. Organizational environments can range from single practitioners to major HMOs and government agencies like the Department of Veterans Affairs, where social workers are typically employed on staff. Independent or group practitioners also have contact with social workers in the hospitals where they treat patients.
Nevertheless, few afflictions in modern medicine have frustrated physicians more than back pain, especially when chronic. As costly as it is widespread, back pain is a leading cause of disability for Americans and costs the U.S. economy over $100 billion annually in treatment costs alone, not to mention the costs of lost productivity, legal and insurance costs, and immeasurable misery. The complex, expensive, or even risky treatment modes used today are often ineffective. It is the goal of this article to emphasize the need for health care systems to focus more attention on the psychosocial factors in both the etiology and the treatment of back pain and the various roles that mental health professionals, including social workers, can play in treating this debilitating condition.