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Clinical practice guidelines suggest that 90% of patients with uncomplicated low back pain recover within 6 weeks; however, results from some studies call this estimate into question. Researchers in Australia prospectively assessed time to recovery in a cohort of 973 consecutive patients (mean age, 43; 55% men) who presented to 170 general practitioners, physiotherapists, or chiropractors with low back pain of less than 2 weeks’ duration. Patients were interviewed at presentation and by telephone at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 1 year; 97% of patients completed all interviews. Investigators used three parameters to assess recovery: return to work, functional recovery, and pain resolution. Patients younger than 14 years or with serious pathology o…