Introduction

An individual has a 60% to 85% lifetime chance of experiencing low back pain. The integrative lifestyle medicine approach to low back pain management involves holistic whole person treatment interventions beyond those of traditional physiotherapy practice. Integrative medicine supplements conventional exercises and therapeutic interventions with sustainable physical activities and mind-body exercises. It also addresses healthy lifestyle changes such as whole food and plant-based diet, restorative sleep, stress management, issues surrounding substance abuse and addiction, establishing meaningful social networks, and healthy self care strategies. All these strategies can be a part of therapeutic interventions used for persons with chronic low back pain by clinicians including physiotherapists.

Aims

This programme of courses will empower the participant to identify the key features, concepts and components of integrative lifestyle medicine and recognise lifestyle-related risk factors as a source of back pain in order to develop an effective management plan for patients with chronic low back pain.

Outline

This course is made up of videos, reading, forum posts and a final quiz. The course content is split into the following sections:

1. Introduction to Managing Chronic Low Back Pain with Integrative Lifestyle Medicine
2. Lifestyle Medicine and Office Ergonomic Strategies for Managing Low Back Pain
3. Lifestyle Medicine, Exercise and Nutrition for Managing Chronic Low Back Pain
4. Lifestyle Medicine, Sleep Hygiene and Psychological Well-being for Managing Chronic Low Back Pain
5. Lifestyle Medicine, Behavioural Modification and Self Care for Managing Low Back Pain

Target audience

This course is aimed at Physiotherapy and Physical Therapy clinicians, students and assistants. Other interested professionals such as athletic trainers, occupational therapists, nurses or medical doctors interested in this subject are also invited to participate.