Back pain is a common ailment in our society. Millions of individuals develop back pain each year and the majority remain dis-satisfied with available treatments. There are many treatments for acute back pain and most do not work. The majority of health care workers believe that the latest treatments are always the best- so most individuals end up with prescriptions for fancy treatments and end up spending thousands of dollars- at the end of the day there is only one person that benefits from all this- the health care provider.
So are all these fancy novel therapies great? Can they really help decrease or prevent back pain?
Recently, a study from Australia provided some very interesting results. Australian investigators followed 240 adults who had developed acute back pain with or with radiation to the lower legs. All patients received advice and acetaminophen (Tylenol). In addition, other individuals were randomized to receive spinal manipulation or Non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs like diclofenac. In this blind study, some individuals also received mock (false) manipulations of the spine.
So what was the result?
Neither diclofenac nor spinal manipulations hastened recovery. Individuals who received both spinal manipulations and NSAIDS did not recover any quicker than those who received neither.
So what does the study tell us?
The study strongly suggests that health care pros should stop mucking around with the back with complicated hodge podge of therapies. Keep it simple, stupid (KISS). Bed rest and Tylenol are the best treatment in most cases of acute back pain. The less one “screws” around with the back, the better the results.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/566980
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