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Back Pain Blog

Related terms: Backache, Pain, back, Slipped Disc, Degenerative Disk Disease, Bulging Disc, Degenerative Disc Disease

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Stem Cells to Relieve Low Back Pain?

Posted 15 Apr 2013 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, April 12 – Medical researchers are trying a new treatment for low back pain. Their hope is that harvesting and then re-injecting the body's own bone marrow – which is rich in stem cells – may repair worn-out discs in the spine. In a small new study, the approach appeared to be safe – and none of the patients reported that their pain got worse after the procedure. But both the doctors who are testing the technique and outside experts say much more research is needed before they can say whether the treatment offers real relief. "I tell everybody that this is experimental, with a capital E," said Dr. Joseph Meyer Jr., an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist at the Columbia Interventional Pain Center, in St. Louis. "We don't know if it works. I do believe that it's safe, but it might not do anything for you." For the study, Meyer and his colleagues reviewed the case ... Read more

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Hands-On Therapy May Spell Relief for Low Back Pain

Posted 18 Mar 2013 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, March 18 – Having an osteopath move your back muscles using techniques that include stretching, light pressure and resistance (called OMT) may trump ultrasound therapy for the relief of lower back pain, new research suggests. According to the study, OMT was not only more effective than ultrasound for treating low back pain, but its use also allowed participants to cut down on the amount of medication they took to treat their lower back pain throughout the 12-week study. Nearly two-thirds of the individuals who received OMT had a 30 percent reduction in their pain level, and half of those patients had a 50 percent reduction in their pain level, the study showed. "The main message from this research study is that hands-on treatment provided by an osteopathic physician is a viable option that can reduce pain and prescription-drug use," said study author Cathleen Kearns, of the ... Read more

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Health Tip: Dealing With Low Back Pain

Posted 7 Feb 2013 by Drugs.com

-- Low back pain can result from an injury or from degeneration of disks between the spine's vertebrae. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons suggests how to manage with low back pain: Ask your doctor about taking medication, such as a pain reliever, anti-inflammatory drug or a steroid. Consider physical therapy, an exercise program for back pain or chiropractic treatment. Consider wearing a back brace. Talk to your doctor about whether you need surgery. Read more

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When It Comes to Spine Surgery, There Is No 'July Effect': Study

Posted 29 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Jan. 29 – There's no proof to support the widely held belief that July is the worst time of year to have spinal surgery, according to a new study. Researchers from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., looked at whether there was any evidence of the so-called "July Effect," which is the notion that the arrival of new residents and fellows at teaching hospitals each July makes it the worst time of year to be a patient. The investigators examined data on nearly 1 million patients who had spinal surgery from 2001 to 2008 and found that the month in which they had surgery had little effect on their outcomes. Incidents of all negative outcomes studied were slightly higher in teaching hospitals than in non-teaching hospitals. In the teaching hospitals, there were minimally higher rates of infection after surgery, and patient discharge to a long-term care facility in July compared ... Read more

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Obese Patients May Have Less Success With Back Surgery

Posted 15 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Jan. 15 – Obese patients who undergo back surgery for a slipped or ruptured lumbar disk (lumbar disk herniation) spend more time in the operating room and have more blood loss and longer hospital stays than non-obese patients, according to a new study. The study also found that obese patients fare worse after surgical or nonsurgical treatment than those who aren't obese. The study included more than 300 obese patients and about 850 non-obese patients who had surgical or non-surgical treatment for lumbar disk herniation. Four years after treatment, obese patients showed less improvement in physical function. Both groups had similar improvements in pain levels. Obese patients did not have higher rates of infection, complications during surgery, recurrent disk herniation or reoperation. The benefit of surgery over nonsurgical treatment was not affected by a patient's weight, ... Read more

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Back Pain May Ease for Smokers Who Quit: Study

Posted 14 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Dec. 14 – Quitting smoking helps reduce back pain in people being treated for spinal problems, according to a new study. The findings show the need for programs to help these patients quit smoking, the researchers said. They looked at more than 5,300 patients who had back pain caused by a spinal disorder and underwent surgical or nonsurgical treatment over eight months. When they began treatment, prior smokers and patients who had never smoked reported much less back pain than current smokers and those who quit smoking during the study. Current smokers had significantly greater scores on all pain ratings used in the study – worst, current and average weekly pain – than patients who never smoked. Patients who quit smoking during treatment reported greater improvements in pain than those who continued to smoke, according to the study, which was published in the December issue ... Read more

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Steroid Injections for Back Pain May Lower Bone Mass

Posted 2 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com

SATURDAY, Dec. 1 – Older women who get steroid injections in the spine to treat lower back pain may be at risk for bone loss in their hips, a small study suggests. It is well known that the anti-inflammatory steroid medications used to treat diseases such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis may decrease a person's bone mass over time. But it hasn't been clear whether steroid shots – one treatment option for lower back pain – are connected to bone loss. "It's been thought that [the steroids] might stay in the epidural space of the spine," explained study author Dr. Shlomo Mandel, an orthopedic physician at Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, in Michigan. Safety questions about steroid injections also have been raised in recent months, as U.S. health officials investigate a deadly outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to steroid shots produced by a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy ... Read more

Tainted Steroid Injections May Affect Those Treated for Joint Pain

Posted 16 Oct 2012 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Oct. 16 – The nationwide meningitis outbreak linked to contaminated steroid injections has so far been focused on back pain patients. Far less attention has been paid to those patients who got injections of methylprednisolone acetate to ease chronic pain in joints such as knees, shoulders and hips. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now reporting that two people who received a steroid injection for pain in a joint – rather than the back – may have come down with a fungal infection. One case is in Michigan, the other New Hampshire, but it will take time to confirm they are fungal infections, agency spokeswoman Melissa Dankel said Monday. People with chronic pain in ankles, knees, shoulders, hips and thumbs commonly get injections of methylprednisolone acetate in the troubled joint to relieve inflammation that causes discomfort and limits movement. Unlike ... Read more

FDA Medwatch Alert: New England Compounding Center (NECC) Potentially Contaminated Medication: Fungal Meningitis Outbreak

Posted 6 Oct 2012 by Drugs.com

[Posted 10/05/2012] ISSUE: FDA has observed fungal contamination by direct microscopic examination of foreign matter taken from a sealed vial of methylprednisolone acetate collected from New England Compounding Center (NECC). FDA is in the process of conducting additional microbial testing to confirm the exact species of the fungus. Investigation into the exact source of the outbreak is still ongoing, but the outbreak is associated with a potentially contaminated medication. That product is preservative-free methylprednisolone acetate (80mg/ml), an injectable steroid produced and distributed by New England Compounding Center (NECC) in Framingham, Massachusetts. CDC’s interim data show that all infected patients received injection with this product. BACKGROUND: FDA was been working closely with CDC, several state health departments, and the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy to in ... Read more

Officials Seeking Patients Who May Have Received Contaminated Steroid

Posted 5 Oct 2012 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Oct. 5 – Health officials in 23 states are trying to track down patients who received steroid injections for routine back pain that may have been contaminated with a deadly type of fungus-related meningitis linked to five deaths and at least 30 cases of illness in six states. All of the patients were injected with methylprednisolone acetate, a steroid drug that investigators suspect was contaminated with a fungus usually found in leaf mold. The drug was manufactured by a specialty pharmacy, New England Compounding Center of Framingham, Mass., which last week voluntarily recalled three lots of the steroid. It has since shut down operations and stopped distributing its products, health officials said. U.S. health experts said Thursday they expect to see more cases of the rare type of meningitis, which is not contagious, because symptoms can take a month or more to appear. All of ... Read more

New Guidelines for Doctors Treating Low Back Pain

Posted 1 Oct 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Oct. 1 – Experts have developed evidence-based guidelines to help doctors manage patients with acute low back pain. Low back pain is one of the most common reasons for outpatient visits to doctors, but there is a lack of consistency in how best to handle these cases, according to the team that developed the guidelines, which were published in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. "The approach to the workup and management of low back pain by physicians and other practitioners is inconstant," article co-author Dr. Scott Forseen said in a journal news release. "There is significant variability in the diagnostic workup of back pain among physicians within and between specialties." He and his colleagues at Emory University Hospital and Georgia Health Sciences University developed a process for how doctors should manage patients with low back pain. ... Read more

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Study Ties Common Back Ailment to Faulty Gene

Posted 28 Sep 2012 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Sept. 28 – Lower back pain that occurs when discs in the spine deteriorate over time may be linked to a specific gene, according to a new study. Researchers at King's College London said their findings could lead to the development of new treatments for this common type of back pain, known as lumbar disc degeneration. Vertebrates develop bony growths called osteophytes when the discs next to them become dehydrated and lose height. These growths can lead to lower back pain. More than one-third of middle-aged women have at least one degenerate disc, the researchers said, and between 65 and 80 percent of the people with this condition inherited it. By comparing the spines of 4,600 people using MRI images and mapping their genes, the study found the PARK2 gene, in particular, was linked to those with degenerating discs. This gene, they explained, may be turned off in people with ... Read more

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Workers Counseled on Back Pain Return to Job Sooner

Posted 9 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com

THURSDAY, Aug. 9 – Workers on medical leave because of lower back pain are more likely to return to work if they receive reassurance and medical advice on how to stay active, according to a new study. People with nonspecific lower back pain who avoid activity could delay their recovery, say researchers Dr. Marc Du Bois and Peter Donceel, at KU Leuven, a university in Belgium. Their study involved more than 500 workers – mostly blue-collar – on sick leave because of low back pain. Workers who had symptoms of a serious back problem were not included. The study was published in the Aug. 1 issue of Spine. The researchers randomly selected half of the workers to receive information and advice on their condition. Specifically, these workers were told their pain would likely resolve over time. They were also advised to avoid bed rest, to remain active and continue with their normal daily ... Read more

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Back Pain Therapy Often Yields Early Benefits: Study

Posted 14 May 2012 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, May 14 – People who receive treatment for chronic and acute low-back pain show significant improvement in the first six weeks, but may still have some pain and disability after one year, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from 33 studies that included more than 11,000 patients to learn more about how treatment affects low-back pain. Their findings appear in the May 14 online edition of CMAJ, the journal of the Canadian Medical Association. "Our review confirms the broad finding of previous reviews that the typical course of acute low-back pain is initially favorable: there is a marked reduction in mean pain and disability in the first six weeks," Dr. Christopher Maher, director of the musculoskeletal division at the George Institute for Global Health of the University of Sydney in Australia, said in a journal news release. "Beyond six weeks, improvement slows ... Read more

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Health Tip: Exercise for Healthier Bones

Posted 24 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com

-- Want to keep your bones strong and healthy? Make sure you get plenty of exercise to help ward off problems such as osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and pain affecting the joints and lower back. The Cleveland Clinic offers these suggestions for boosting your bone health: Get low-impact exercise via activities such as swimming, walking and biking. Perform gentle stretching and strengthening exercises. Perform weight-bearing exercises such as dancing, climbing stairs, hiking and tennis. Play sports such as golf that are relatively easy on the bones and joints. Read more

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