Tash Pocovi APAM is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Health Sciences at Macquarie University, Sydney.

As part of her PhD, she was a member of the team conducting the WalkBack trial, which examined the utility of using an individualised and progressive walking and education program facilitated by physiotherapists to prevent recurrences of low back pain (LBP). 

‘Among those who recover from an episode of LBP, our work indicates that approximately 70 per cent will suffer a new episode within the next 12 months following recovery,’ says Tash.

‘So instead of strategising all the ways to treat an episode of LBP, we thought we’d shift the focus to prevention—that was the inspiration and what eventually led to funding the WalkBack trial.’

The WalkBack trial gained international media attention when its results were published in medical journal The Lancet in 2024.

 ‘Compared to the usual care control group, our simple walking and education program was able to reduce recurrences of LBP that led to activity limitation by 28 per cent.

'Even more significantly, we were able to reduce careseeking recurrences by almost 45 per cent compared to the control group.’ 

Taking research from a trial to the clinic can be a long process.

‘It’s estimated that it takes about 17 years for published research findings to filter into clinical practice, and that’s if it’s fortunate enough to make it to clinical practice at all.

'Given the positive finding in the WalkBack trial, we want to see this program rapidly used in clinical practice,’ says Tash.

‘In this new project funded by the Physiotherapy Research Foundation Seeding Grant, the intent is to find 20 new clinicians, from all across Australia, and then train them to roll out the WalkBack intervention in their clinical practice over the next six to 12 months,’ Tash explains.

‘The clinicians will collect data on the characteristics of patients who are offered the WalkBack program and their levels of adherence to the program.

They will then share their findings and provide us with practical feedback on how our program can be improved for future implementation.’

The team’s end goal is to create a resource and adapt the program so that it can be widely used by clinicians everywhere.

‘I want to make WalkBack training available to any clinician who wants to use it, in Australia or abroad, and then help clinicians deliver it in an array of clinical settings.

'To do this, we need to test our intervention in real-world practice—beyond the constraints of a clinical trial,’ says Tash.

‘Ultimately, our goal is to improve the health of the people who present to care for LBP—WalkBack is just another tool that helps us move toward this goal.’

The PRF Seeding Grant will help the team focus on this next stage of implementation.

‘It’s very flattering to receive the grant because I appreciate how competitive it is,’ says Tash.

‘The APA and PRF have been incredibly supportive of WalkBack and it makes it feel like our research has reach.

'It shows that what we’re doing is important and that the profession sees value in it.’

If you’re a physio interested in being trained in WalkBack or have any additional questions, feel free to email Tash at tash.pocovi@mq.edu.au for more information.  

Watch the WalkBack trial for low back pain animation.