Jan Hartvigsen webinar Q&A

Low back pain management is presented as a long-term, evidence-based approach centered on patient education, exercise, and self-management rather than quick fixes. Jan Hartvigsen explains that back pain is often a chronic, recurrent condition, so flare-ups are common and do not necessarily mean the spine is worsening. Learners can expect a practical overview of how to explain this to patients, including the idea that back pain episodes can be compared to recurring migraine attacks with different triggers. The discussion also covers what current research supports and what it does not. Education and exercise are described as the core of high-value care, while excessive imaging, restrictive movement advice, and overmedicalization are questioned. Manual therapy may help some patients, especially as part of a broader plan, but it is not clearly superior to other recommended options. Exercise is framed less as correcting perfect technique and more as restoring confidence, function, and movement. A major theme is implementation: why guideline-based musculoskeletal care is still poorly delivered, how reimbursement systems reward low-value care, and how programs such as GLAD Back aim to improve practice through structured education, exercise, and outcome tracking.