Despite their best efforts, UW Medicine has not yet been able to reach fair and sustainable agreements with Aetna that ensure continued access to care and are in the best interests of patients. Effective June 1, 2025, UW Medicine’s contracts with Aetna for Medicare Advantage and Commercial services have expired and we are now out of network with Aetna. Learn more about what this means for you and what you should do next.
Relieving, Treating and Preventing Low Back Pain
More than 80% of people in the United States experience an
episode of low back pain during their lives. Most cases of low
back pain can be linked to muscle strain, injury or overuse. A
small percent of low back pain can be caused by more specific
conditions of the spine that your doctor can diagnose and
explain further. Most episodes of low back pain (95%) will get
better in a few months; however, some patients will go on to
develop chronic low back pain lasting longer than 3 months.
It is also common for low back pain to reoccur.