[Orthopedic specialists in an interdisciplinary setting. Multimodal therapy for chronic back pain]

Chronic back pain compels a new therapeutic strategy. A therapeutic team setting and consequent consideration of proven treatments are required. The orthopedic specialist should manage a cooperating team with a psychologist and a physiotherapist, and information should be continuously exchanged according to the criteria for interdisciplinary multimodal pain therapy. The team's therapeutic tasks should be determined and distributed according to the individual patient's problems. Questionably relevant - in particular, somatic-oriented - diagnostic and therapeutic measures should be avoided. The team setting facilitates optimal task sharing and simultaneous professional application of the most effective therapy for chronic back pain: pharmaceutical therapy, including peridural infiltrations by the medical doctor; systematic and controlled increased load by the physiotherapist; and psychosocial assistance from the psychologist.