Persistent Low Back Pain

Abstract
A 49-year-old maintenance worker with a history of depression and previous reports of minor back pain is seen during four months of continuing low back pain. He has remained out of work for fear of worsening the injury. Magnetic resonance imaging two weeks after the onset of pain showed only mild degenerative changes in the lumbar region without spinal stenosis or disk collapse or extrusion. How should this patient be evaluated and treated?