About BackCare
BackCare produces a number of publications to inform and educate professionals and the general public about how to deal with back pain.
These range from handy leaflets about looking after your back to textbooks, videos and tapes. One of the most important publications, “The Guide to the Handling of Patients” is considered to be the leading authority on this subject for nurses and other caring professionals and has been quoted in case law.
An increasingly important information resource is our Website: http://www.backcare.org.uk which is updated daily.
BackCare is a membership organisation with 36 branches throughout the UK. Each branch organises its own activities in support of its members and promotes BackCare’s message of active recovery.
BackCare created and sells the first ergonomically designed schoolbag to reduce the risk to growing spines.
Its telephone helpline is currently open four days a week for four hours a day. It receives on average 10 enquiries a day with some calls lasting for 30 minutes to an hour.
BackCare has funded over £1 million worth of research into the causes, cure and prevention of illnesses, complaints and disorders in or associated with the back over the last three decades. This year BackCare is funding eight research projects:
- research into the possibility that sciatica is sometimes caused by infection
- a systematic review of the effectiveness of acupuncture for back pain
- a study looking at the effectiveness of educating ambulance service crews about how to look after their backs in reducing low back pain and absenteeism due to low back pain
- an investigation into the role of interleukin-1 in intervertebral disc degeneration
- an investigation into the effect of a muscle stabilisation programme (a form of physiotherapy) on patients who have had surgery for prolapsed discs
- testing of a new tool for measuring depression, anxiety and positive wellbeing in people with back pain
- a comparison of two different therapies to help chronic low back pain patients regain the ability to perform the routine activities of daily living
- a survey of Primary Care trusts to establish their opinions regarding the use of the Royal College of GPs UK national guidelines for acute low back pain.
Our history
BackCare was established in 1968 by businessman Stanley Grundy, who endured chronic back pain himself and saw many of his employees suffering with back pain, and found there was little advice and support available.
He wrote “a back injury I sustained in 1967…enabled me to learn just how difficult it is to obtain the right treatment for damage to a very complex part of the human anatomy.” This was at a time when a GP could be “struck off” for referring a patient to an osteopath or chiropractor!
In its early years, the National Back Pain Association (as it was then) focused much of its effort on persuading various professions involved in the treatment of back pain to work together for the benefit of sufferers, giving them access to the range of possible therapies beyond those which had been provided by traditional medicine.
The principle of a multi-disciplinary approach to the treatment and management of back pain for which NBPA had lobbied was enshrined in the Clinical Standards Advisory Group (CSAG) Report of 1992.
In 1976 the first group of back pain sufferers was formed in Richmond. By 1984 there was a network of 20 branches.
In July 1991 the government’s “Health of the Nation” white paper recognised that back pain was a condition which was a strong contender for Key Area Status, but that further development and research was needed before national targets could be set.
In 1994 a new category of membership, “Professional Member” was launched in addition to the “Individual Member” category and a Directory of professional members was published. The category of “Corporate Supporter” was added in 1995. Corporate supporters have included Rover Plc, the Automobile Association, United Biscuits, Nestle and Hewlett Packard, as well as many NHS Trusts.
In 1992 a Telephone Helpline was set up. In1996 the Department of Health awarded the NBPA a three year grant to support the Helpline which is staffed by qualified nurses who deal with 50–100 telephone, letter and email enquiries each week.
In 1996 the NBPA website was created. It includes details of all BackCare publications, listings of professional members and corporate supporters (with links to their websites as appropriate), news and an electronic version of Talkback.
The charity changed its name from the NBPA to BackCare (The Charity for Healthier Backs) in 1999. This was to reflect the fact that “pain” does not cover all aspects of the charity’s work and can be seen as negative, while “care” is all-encompassing, positive and reflects both the effective management and prevention of pain.