THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM OF PATIENT EDUCATION FOR LOW-BACK-PAIN IN GENERAL-PRACTICE

In this article I explore the implicit learning that occurs in and thr ough doctor-patient educational encounters in general practice. Drawin g upon a recent study of low back pain, I argue that whilst general pr actitioners appear to dominate the process of patient education, this process cannot be viewed simply as a repressive social control mechani sm. Rather patients voluntarily choose to exert bodily self-controls i n the light of patient education, due to their wider association with freedom, health and personal choice. Patient education for low back pa in also offers opportunities for people to liberate their subjectiviti es so that social controls become redeployed or reappropriated for idi osyncratic or counter-hegemonic purposes.