Chronic Low Back Pain

Study: Yoga helps back pain among veterans

In a study including 150 military veterans with chronic low back pain, researcher Dr. Erik J. Groessl and his team from the VA San Diego Healthcare System found that veterans who completed a 12-week yoga program had better scores on a disability questionnaire, improved pain intensity scores, and a decline in opioid use. Groessl is a researcher with […]

Is non-pharmacological treatment an effective option for chronic low back pain?

Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2017 Jul;38(3):169-172. Ondrejkovicova A, Petrovics G, Svitkova K, Balogh V Abstract OBJECTIVE: Despite of pain being important warning signal for body ability to respond to internal or external threats, chronic pain is perceived as a discomfort by patients, leading to somatic, emotional and social negative changes. Lifestyle, wrong seating habits and some […]

Radiofrequency Denervation Not Shown to Improve Chronic Low-Back Pain

July 13, 2017 JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association TAKE-HOME MESSAGE Patients with chronic low-back pain originating at the facet joints, sacroiliac joints, or a combination of facet joints, sacroiliac joints, and intervertebral disks received a 3-month exercise program and psychological support. In addition, the intervention group received one to three radiofrequency denervation […]

Yoga, Physical Therapy, or Education for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Noninferiority Trial

Published: Ann Intern Med. 2017. DOI: 10.7326/M16-2579 2017 American College of Physicians Robert B. Saper, MD, MPH Abstract Background: Yoga is effective for mild to moderate chronic low back pain (cLBP), but its comparative effectiveness with physical therapy (PT) is unknown. Moreover, little is known about yoga’s effectiveness in underserved patients with more severe functional […]

Uneven intervertebral motion sharing is related to disc degeneration and is greater in patients with chronic, non-specific low back pain – Full Text Article

European Spine Journal pp 1–9 Uneven intervertebral motion sharing is related to disc degeneration and is greater in patients with chronic, non-specific low back pain: an in vivo, cross-sectional cohort comparison of intervertebral dynamics using quantitative fluoroscopy Authors Alan Breen Cite this article as: Breen, A. & Breen, A. Eur Spine J (2017). doi:10.1007/s00586-017-5155-y Abstract […]

FDA proposes that doctors learn about acupuncture and chiropractic for pain management

By MEGAN THIELKING @meggophone MAY 10, 2017 Chiropractors and acupuncturists who have lobbied for a bigger role in treating pain have won a preliminary endorsement from federal health officials. The Food and Drug Administration released proposed changes Wednesday to its blueprint on educating health care providers about treating pain. The guidelines now recommend that doctors get information about chiropractic care and […]

Effects of Myofascial Release in Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Arguisuelas, María D. PT, PhD Spine: 1 May 2017 – Volume 42 – Issue 9 – p 627–634 doi: 10.1097/BRS.0000000000001897 Randomized Trial Study Design. Double-blind, randomized parallel sham-controlled trial with concealed allocation and intention-to treat analysis. Objective. To investigate the effects of an isolate myofascial release (MFR) protocol on pain, disability, and fear-avoidance beliefs in […]

The Effectiveness and Harms of Spinal Manipulative Therapy for the Treatment of Acute Neck and Lower Back Pain: A Systematic Review

Back pain and neck pain are among the most common symptoms prompting patients to seek care. Many treatments are used for back pain. Spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) is a treatment option available in VA. In order to better understand the potential role of SMT in treating acute back or neck pain, VA requested an up-to-date […]

Therapeutic efficacy of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug therapy versus exercise therapy in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a prospective study – Full Text

Naoto Takahashi FUKUSHIMA JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE Vol. 63 (2017) No. 1 p. 8-15 Abstract Therapy for chronic, nonspecific low back pain is mainly conservative: medication and/or exercise. Pharmacotherapy, however, has side effects, and the quantities of concomitant drugs in older persons require attention. Although exercise promises improved function, its use to alleviate pain is controversial. Thus, we […]

Placebo Plus Usual Treatment Achieves Clinically Significant Back Pain Relief

FEBRUARY 9, 2017 A placebo of a pill added to treatment as usual for chronic low back pain resulted in clinically significant improvements in patients who were informed about the placebo beforehand, according to a new study from Portugal. “We knew that placebos are effective for pain relief, but also that the deception assumed to […]

Clinical practice guidelines for the noninvasive management of low back pain [Full Text]

A systematic review by the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration J.J. Wong Eur J Pain 21 (2017) 201–216 Abstract We conducted a systematic review of guidelines on the management of low back pain (LBP) to assess their methodological quality and guide care. We synthesized guidelines on the management of LBP published from […]

Recent clinical trial discovers vitamin D supplementation reduces chronic low back pain (Full Text)

Posted on: January 18, 2017 by Amber Tovey A recent clinical trial published in the journal Pain Physician found that treating low vitamin D levels improved pain intensity and mobility among patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide. In fact, one-half of all working Americans […]

Yoga May Ease Pain, Up Function in Chronic Low Back Pain

Pauline Anderson January 13, 2017 Yoga may lessen pain and improve function in patients with chronic, nonspecific low back pain, a new Cochrane review suggests. However, it’s unclear whether yoga is more effective than other types of exercise, primarily because there’s so little evidence directly comparing these interventions, lead author L. Susan Wieland, assistant professor, […]

The effect of obesity on treatment outcomes for low back pain

Stanley C. Ewald Chiropractic & Manual Therapies 2016 24:48 DOI: 10.1186/s12998-016-0129-4 ©  The Author(s). 2016 Received: 25 January 2016 Accepted: 20 October 2016 Published: 12 December 2016 Abstract Background The objective of this study was to estimate the effect of obesity, as measured by body mass index (BMI), on treatment outcomes for low back pain (LBP). Methods Data from the University of California, Los Angeles, and […]

Modifiable risk factors for chronic back pain: insights using the co-twin control design

The Spine Journal Volume 17, Issue 1, January 2017, Pages 4–14 Pradeep Suri, MD, MS Abstract Background Inconsistent associations between modifiable risk factors and chronic back pain (CBP) may be due to the inability of traditional epidemiologic study designs to properly account for an array of potential genetic and environmental confounding factors. The co-twin control […]

Open-label placebo treatment in chronic low back pain: A randomized controlled trial

Pain, 11/29/2016 Carvalho C, et al. Researchers performed this randomized controlled trial to explore whether placebo effects in chronic low back pain could be harnessed ethically by adding open–label placebo (OLP) treatment to treatment as usual (TAU) for 3 weeks. They conclude that in chronic low back pain, OLP pills presented in a positive context […]

Study finds knowingly taking placebo pills eases pain

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 10/17/2016 ‘Fake pills’ reduced pain and disability in patients with low back pain. Conventional medical wisdom has long held that placebo effects depend on patients’ belief they are getting pharmacologically active medication. A paper published online in the journal Pain is the first to demonstrate that patients who knowingly took […]

Effects of opioid analgesics for low back pain

JAMA Internal Medicine, 05/27/2016 Shaheed CA, et al. In this research, the researchers aimed tp assess efficacy and tolerability of opioids in the management of back pain; and investigate the effect of opioid dose and use of an enrichment study design on treatment effect. For people with chronic low back pain who tolerate the medicine, […]

Exercise Prescriptions for Chronic Conditions: A How-to Guide – Full Text Article

Diana Phillips March 22, 2016 Exercise can be an effective component of treatment for many chronic conditions from knee osteoarthritis to type 2 diabetes, but physicians must be aware of the details of evidence-based interventions for the specific condition to properly prescribe it for their patients, according to a multidisciplinary review and how-to guide published […]

Use of mindfulness-based stress reduction for chronic low back pain

Date: March 22, 2016 Source: The JAMA Network Journals Summary: Among adults with chronic low back pain, both mindfulness-based stress reduction and cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in greater improvement in back pain and functional limitations when compared with usual care, according to a study. Among adults with chronic low back pain, both mindfulness-based stress reduction […]