BACk Pain in Elders in Norway (BACE-N)

An international Consortium (BACk pain in Elders: BACE) was established in 2008 in order to create standardised methodology for large cohort studies and share data on the burden of back pain in older people. BACE cohort studies have been established in several countries with the primary objective to establish the clinical course and burden of back pain in elderly, to identify prognostic factors for chronic back pain and disability, and to explore usual care provided in primary care. The BACE-N is a BACE cohort study conducted in Norway, including a broad network of clinicians covering general practitioners, physiotherapists and chiropractors working in the primary healthcare. The BACE-N project will provide new knowledge on prognosis of back-related disability and pain in elderly people who seek help in the primary healthcare, the clinical course of back pain over two follow-up years, including a thorough description of healthcare utilisation and their costs, and prognostic factors that influence good or poor prognosis for these people.