Congratulations to members of the Quebec Back Pain Consortium, led by Hugo Massé-Alarie, Jean-Sébastien Roy and Carolina B. Meloto who received the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-IMHA Inclusive Research Excellence Prize to continue low back pain research. The objective of the funding opportunity was to recognize exemplary research projects that ‘exemplify a more inclusive concept of research excellence in all its diversity’.
Project summary
Persistent low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of years lived with disability. Current interventions are often either not effective or are associated with undesired consequences. These concerns are further amplified by the current opioid epidemic, resulting in an enormous public health crisis. The need for an interdisciplinary team is critical to study LBP multidimensional contributing factors. Experts from diverse disciplines including sensorimotor determinants of pain, kinesiology (the science of movement), neurobiology, epigenetics, genetics, psychology, spinal and cerebral imaging, trajectory of care and health care resource use, epidemiology, patient pain experience and healthcare communication founded the Quebec Back Pain Consortium to address this challenge.
The main objective is to identify biopsychosocial factors predicting who will develop chronic LBP and recover after an initial episode of acute (recent) LBP. To accomplish this goal, the research team recruits individuals that have a recent acute LBP episode across the province of Quebec. Then, all participants complete web-based questionnaires regarding the traditional risk factors related to LBP (e.g. depression, work-related compensation, etc.) and collect saliva and blood (for epigenetic and genetic analysis) samples. Thereafter, their pain trajectories will be followed over two years using an online platform. During that period, satellite projects will investigate specific risk factors including neuroanatomical, biomechanical, and physical activity. Advanced statistical methods will be used to integrate and interpret the data.
This unifying cohort study will provide an integrated view on the transition from acute to chronic LBP or recovery in a Canadian population that is not confined to individual disciplinary silos. Results will allow to identify individuals at risk of developing chronic LBP, and ultimately, guide the development of specific interventions to intervene rapidly before pain becomes chronic.
Progress
Five manuscripts have been already published, describing the French-Canadian adaptation of the questionnaires that are used, the study protocol, results from satellite projects and reference values from the chronic low back pain cohort.Members of the Quebec Back Pain Consortium have also participated in several research dissemination activities such as patient-oriented webinars, interviews and short-clips describing their satellite projects. A quarterly newsletter intended for study participants shares them useful information, news and resources.
Conclusion
The collected data will contribute to improved prevention strategies for chronic back pain, will identify clinically relevant biomarkers for optimizing clinical trajectories and will ultimately lead to improved treatment for people living with chronic low back pain.
