Back to basics: 10 facts every person should know about back pain
Tags: back pain, etiology, diagnosis, treatment, pain problems, spine, pro
One article on PainSci cites O’Sullivan 2019: The Complete Guide to Low Back Pain
PainSci notes on O’Sullivan 2019:
Good, readable, relatively brief explanation of back pain myths, free, includes a nice infographic. Lead author Peter O’Sullivan shared the myths and featured infographic in a tweet. The “unhelpful” low back pain beliefs, “culturally endorsed and not supported by evidence,” identified by O’Sullivan et al.:
- Low back pain is usually a serious medical condition.
- Low back pain will become persistent and deteriorate in later life.
- Persistent low back pain is always related to tissue damage.
- Scans are always needed to detect the cause of low back pain.
- Pain related to exercise and movement is always a warning that harm is being done to the spine and a signal to stop or modify activity.
- Low back pain is caused by weak “core” muscles and having a strong core protects against future Low back pain.
- Repeated spinal loading results in “wear and tear” and tissue damage.
- Pain flare-ups are a sign of tissue damage and require rest.
- Treatments such as strong medications, injectionss and surgery are effective, and necessary, to treat Low back pain.
related content
Specifically regarding O’Sullivan 2019:
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Exercise and education versus saline injections for knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled equivalence trial. Bandak 2022 Ann Rheum Dis.
- Association of Lumbar MRI Findings with Current and Future Back Pain in a Population-based Cohort Study. Kasch 2022 Spine (Phila Pa 1976).
- A double-blinded randomised controlled study of the value of sequential intravenous and oral magnesium therapy in patients with chronic low back pain with a neuropathic component. Yousef 2013 Anaesthesia.
- Is Neck Posture Subgroup in Late Adolescence a Risk Factor for Persistent Neck Pain in Young Adults? A Prospective Study. Richards 2021 Phys Ther.
- Sudden amnesia resulting in pain relief: the relationship between memory and pain. Choi 2007 Pain.