Back Pain Help: Lifestyle Coaches Join Regular Care

Many people with long‑lasting low back pain also sit too much, sleep badly, eat junk food, and carry extra weight. These habits can make the pain worse, but doctors usually don’t talk about them during regular visits.

In the Netherlands, there is a program that helps overweight adults move more, eat better, sleep well, and handle stress. The Back2Health trial puts this program together with usual back‑pain care to see if it works better than usual care alone.

The study will enroll 318 adults from Dutch hospitals and split them into two equal groups. One group gets the lifestyle program led by physiotherapists who have been trained as coaches. The other group continues with standard care. Researchers will follow everyone for three years, checking how well they move and how many steps they take each day. They will also look at pain levels, blood markers for inflammation, sleep quality, and eating habits. Participants fill out short surveys every few months and come in for a hands‑on check‑up five times.

The medical ethics board in Brabant gave the go‑ahead (METC Brabant: NL85373.028.23). Findings will be shared in scientific journals and at conferences. You can find the trial listed on ClinicalTrials.gov under number NCT06594796.