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Migraine as a sequela to chronic low back pain.

The occurrence of headache as a sequela of low back pain was examined in a sample of chronic pain patients. All patients had low back pain without history of head, neck, or upper back injury or headache onset simultaneous with the low back pain. Consistent with prior research, headache was found to be a common concomitant of back pain. In many patients, headache was found to have begun or exacerbated markedly after onset of low back pain. Prevalence of migraine in female patients was significantly higher than the population prevalence for females in the United States; this was not true for male patients. Potential mechanisms for explaining the high prevalence of migraine following low back pain are discussed, including increased muscle tension, psychosocial factors, and analgesic overuse.

Female↗

Back schools for non-specific low back pain.

BACKGROUND: Since the introduction of the Swedish back school in 1980, the content of back schools has changed and appears to vary widely today. Back schools are frequently used in the treatment of low back pain patients. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this systematic review was to assess the effects of back schools for patients with non-specific low back pain. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Medline and Embase databases up to December 1997 and the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register up to December 1998 if reported in English, Dutch, French or German. We also screened references given in relevant reviews and identified randomised trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: Only randomised trials that reported on any type of back school for non-specific low back pain were included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers blinded with respect to authors, institution and journal independently extracted the data and assessed trial quality. Our preset "high quality" level was 6 or more out of 11 internal validity criteria with positive scores. As data were statistically and clinically too heterogeneous, a qualitative review (best evidence synthesis) was performed. The evidence was classified into 4 levels (strong, moderate, limited or no evidence) taking into account the methodological quality of the studies. MAIN RESULTS: Fifteen RCTs were included in our systematic review. Overall, the methodological quality was low. Only 3 trials were considered high quality. It was not possible to make relevant subgroup analyses for radiation versus no radiation or to have a relevant subgroup of studies reporting on acute low back pain only. The results indicate that there is moderate evidence that back schools have better short-term effects than other treatments for chronic low back pain, and that there is moderate evidence that back schools in an occupational setting are more effective compared to 'placebo' or waiting list controls. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Back schools may be effective for patients with recurrent and chronic low back pain in occupational settings, but little is known about the cost-effectiveness of back schools.

Exercise↗

Back pain in primary care: predictors of high health-care costs.

The objective of this study was to describe the health care utilization and prospective predictors of high-cost primary-care back pain patients. In the primary-care clinics of a large, staff model health maintenance organization in western Washington State, 1059 subjects were selected from consecutive patients presenting for back pain. The design was a 1-year prospective cohort study. Patients' were interviewed 1 month after an index primary-care back pain visit. Costs (back pain and total) and utilization (back pain primary-care follow-up visits, back pain specialty visits, back pain hospitalizations, back pain radiologic procedures, and pain medicine fills) were tracked over the next 11 months. Predictors assessed at 1 month were back pain diagnosis (disc disorder/sciatica, arthritis, vs. other), chronic pain grade (measure of pain intensity and related dysfunction), pain persistence (days with pain in prior 6 months), depressive symptomatology, and back pain-related disability compensation (ever/never). For the sample, 21% of patients with back pain costs > or = $600 (high back pain costs) accounted for 66% of back pain costs, 42% of total costs, 55% of primary-care follow-up visits for back pain, 91% of back pain specialty visits, 100% of back pain hospitalizations, 51% of back pain radiologic procedures, and 52% of pain medicine fills. The 21% with total costs > or = $2700 (high total costs) accounted for 67.7% of total costs, 52% of back pain costs, 29% of primary-care follow-up visits for back pain, 66% of back pain specialty visits, 100% of back pain hospitalizations, 39% of back pain radiologic procedures, and 42% of pain medicine fills. Multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that increasing chronic pain grade, more persistent pain, and disc disorder/sciatica were strong independent predictors of high total and high back pain costs. Increasing depressive symptoms significantly predicted high total but not high back pain costs. Back pain disability compensation predicted high back pain but not high total costs. A minority of primary-care back pain patients accounted for a majority of health-care costs. Patients with high back pain costs accounted for more back pain-related health-care utilization than did patients with high total costs. Factors predicting subsequent high costs suggest behavioral interventions targeting dysfunction, pain persistence, and depression may reduce health-care utilization and prevent accumulation of high health-care costs among primary-care back pain patients.

Adolescent↗

Back pain in pre-registration house officers.

Back pain is a major burden on the working population. It is a particular problem amongst hospital staff, especially nurses. It has been poorly studied amongst doctors. Pre-registration house officers (PRHOs) starting their careers are exposed to a number of risk factors for back problems, both physical and psychological. This questionnaire-based study investigated the prevalence of back pain and its impact on the work of new graduates from two UK medical schools. Around half of the newly qualified PRHOs had significant back pain, one-quarter at least once a week. The frequency of back pain doubled once they started work, although the overall prevalence remained static. One in 10 of them had been unable to perform their normal work activities at some stage because of back pain. One in eight had sought professional help for back problems in the previous 5 years. Fewer than 50% of newly qualified doctors could recall any formal training in lifting and handling.

Adult↗

Psychological questionnaires: do "abnormal" scores precede or follow first-time low back pain?

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study of psychological risk factors for first-time low back pain with repeated use of psychological questionnaires. OBJECTIVES: To measure the reproducibility of scores from psychological questionnaires, and to compare this with changes that follow an individual's first attack of back pain. Secondly, to determine which scores predict first-time back pain. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: "Abnormal" psychometric scores are associated with several aspects of back pain behavior. Little is known, however, about their reproducibility or long-term stability, and there has been no definitive answer to the question: which comes first, "abnormal" scores or low back pain? METHODS: 403 volunteers with no history of "serious" low back pain (defined as pain requiring medical attention or absence from work) participated in a functional spinal assessment. At the time of initial assessment and at 6-month intervals thereafter, the volunteers completed the following questionnaires: the Health Locus of Control, which was subdivided into three sections labelled "Internal," "Powerful others," and "Chance"; the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire; and the Zung depression scale. Scores from the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire and from the Zung depression scale were added to form a measure of psychological distress. Additional questionnaires inquired about any back pain experienced in the previous 6 months. Only three volunteers had left the study at the 18-month follow-up. At that time 162 participants had reported "any" low back pain, of which 79 were "serious." RESULTS: Intraclass correlation coefficients for scores repeated after 6 months ranged from 0.67-0.80, and reproducibility of scores was equally high between the 0-, 6-, 12- and 18-month assessments. None of the scores were affected by "any" low back pain, and only the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire scores changed after "serious" back pain was reported. In a multivariate analysis, the most significant predictor of first time "serious" or "any" back pain was a history of non-"serious" back pain (P < 0.001). Of the psychological factors, the sum of Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire scores and Zung questionnaire scores was the best predictor of "serious" back pain (P = 0.037), and the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire score was the best predictor of "any" back pain (P = 0.002). The 25% of participants with the highest sum of scores from the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire and Zung questionnaire was 2.7 times more likely to develop "serious" back pain than the 25% with the lowest sum of these scores. Nevertheless, after accounting for the affects of a history of non-"serious" back pain, psychometric scores predicted less than an additional 3% of reported back pain. CONCLUSIONS: The scores from the Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire and Zung questionnaire were reproducible over 18 months and were affected little by first episodes of back pain; yet these scores were significant predictors of it. "Abnormal" scores from these questionnaires precede back pain in a small number of people.

Adolescent↗

Back pain.

Among the multitude of potential etiologies for low back pain in the elderly, cauda equina syndrome is the only genuine surgical emergency. The consequence of delayed recognition, referral, and decompression may be permanent neurologic deficit. Fortunately, this event is rare. Certain other warning signs and symptoms (as outlined in Fig. 1) should alert the clinician to possible systemic disease and warrant earlier, more aggressive evaluation. Careful history-taking and focused physical examination remain the cornerstones of clinical decision making in managing the geriatric patient with back pain. Laboratory and/or radiologic studies are indicated in carefully defined circumstances. Advanced age, independent of other risk factors, is probably not an indication for obtaining roentgenograms and laboratory studies as part of the initial screening of patients with back complaints. Available epidemiologic studies suggest that the predicament as well as the illness of back pain is common in the elderly, and that most people who suffer from back pain in old age had back complaints before the age of 65. Furthermore, although back complaints are among the most commonly mentioned symptoms by elderly patients to their physicians, they are less often the chief or presenting complaint. Studies that examine the reasons for health-care-seeking behavior in older patients with back pain, or that compare older and younger patients in this regard, are lacking. Several factors potentially contribute to age-related differences in patient behavior related to back pain. The removal of employment compensation issues in the postretirement population may alter the relative frequency of physician visits. A higher incidence of serious chronic and/or life-threatening disease in the elderly, as well as perceived threats to independent function, may heighten anxiety about back pain. Conversely, because of the greater prevalence of musculoskeletal and other activity-limiting conditions in the elderly, older patients may believe that back pain is just another burden of aging. These questions await further research.

Aged↗

Facet joint degeneration as a cause of low back pain.

Recognizing that not all patients with low back pain have lumbar disc disease, the authors began to inject facet joints in June 1982 and have experience now with 21 patients, each injected under fluoroscopic control with a mixture of local anesthetic and steroid. One technical problem occurred when large osteophytes blocked access to the facet joints. Otherwise, there were no complications and minimal morbidity. Most patients (15 of 20; 75%) had an initial response, but a much smaller number (six of 18 followed more than three months; 33%) had a lasting response. Repeat injections, when done, always led to temporary improvement but rarely to lasting relief (one of five; 20%). Three factors characterized the patients: a negative screening examination for other causes of back pain or sciatica; back pain with tenderness localized over one or more facet joints; and radiologic changes of degenerative joint disease within the facet joints. Facet joint disease may be a significant cause of low back pain. The above three criteria are useful in clinical identification of patients with this problem. Facet joint injections play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of low back pain.

Adult↗

Caffeine and chronic back pain.

OBJECTIVE: Tobacco use and other behavioral factors are associated with chronic back pain. Anecdotes suggest excess caffeine use may also be associated with chronic back pain. We compared caffeine consumption by chronic back pain patients with caffeine consumption by controls. DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. SETTING: A multispecialty outpatient facility. PATIENTS: Sixty new, consecutive patients with chronic back pain compared to 60 new, consecutive patients without chronic back pain. INTERVENTION: Patients were prospectively asked to complete an intake questionnaire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Daily caffeine consumption was estimated by analyzing the intake questionnaire. Differences between groups were analyzed by both normal and nonparametric statistics. RESULTS: Consumption of caffeine by patients with chronic back pain averaged 392.4 mg/day. Controls consumed 149.8 mg/ day, a significant difference (p = .0001). Men consumed 86% more caffeine per day than women (p = .02). Age and caffeine consumption showed little correlation (r = .126). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with chronic back pain consume over twice as much caffeine as patients without chronic back pain. Confounding variables and possible mechanisms associating caffeine with chronic back pain are discussed.

Adult↗

Towards a model of back pain. The 3 circles of pain.

A new model for back pain is introduced. Three major groups (or ''circles'') of pain are described for the use of clinicians. The 1(st) circle is comprised of patients with pain from genuine spinal (mainly discs or facets) origin. The main feature identifying this group is the organic pattern of pain, a concept which is described and discussed, and which is based on the history, the clinical signs, imaging tests and response to treatments. The 2(nd)circle consists in patients with diffuse and permanent back pain, without any organic pattern. The pain, presumed to be not spinal in origin, is attributed to a dysfunction in the pain pathways. The 3(rd) circle is comprised of patients with clear psychosocial risk factors and no evidence for a spinal origin of their pain. This model applies for lumbar or cervical pain, with or without radiculopathy. Classifying a given patient in one of the 3 circles is relatively easy. It should allow an easier management of the back pain patients.

Journal Article↗

Risk factors for first-ever low back pain among workers in their first employment.

BACKGROUND: Low back pain has been estimated to be the most costly ailment of people of working age. Both work characteristics and individual factors have been identified as risk factors. The first interaction between work characteristics and individual factors occurs when workers start in their first job. AIMS: To investigate work-related risk factors for first-ever low back pain in young workers in their first employment. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was performed on 278 young workers in their first employment and without a history of low back pain prior to working. Work-related physical factors, psychosocial work characteristics, individual variables and first-ever low back pain were queried by means of a questionnaire. RESULTS: About half of the workers who developed low back pain after job start did so in the first year of employment. An increased risk was observed for (i) long periods of seated work [relative risk (RR) = 3.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.6-6.4]; (ii) more than 12 flexion or rotation movements of the trunk per hour (RR = 3.0, 95%CI = 1.4-6.4); and (iii) more than 3 years seniority in a job involving lifting more than 25 kg at least once an hour (RR = 3.7, 95%CI = 1.4-9.4). As to psychosocial work characteristics, first-ever low back pain was associated with a combination of low psychological job demands and low supervisor support. CONCLUSION: Work-related physical factors and psychosocial work characteristics should be considered as risk factors for first-ever low back pain. First-ever episodes of low back pain are common in the first year of employment. This may reflect a lack of work experience or training.

Adult↗

The treatment of neck and low back pain: who seeks care? who goes where?

BACKGROUND: Neck and low back pain are leading causes of morbidity and health care utilization. However, little is known about the characteristics that differentiate those who seek from those who do not seek health care for their pain. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to: 1) describe health care utilization for neck and back pain; 2) determine the characteristics of individuals seeking health care for neck and back pain; and 3) identify the characteristics of patients who consult medical doctors, chiropractors, or both. DESIGN: Population-based cross-sectional mailed survey. SUBJECTS: Subjects were randomly selected adults from the Saskatchewan Health Insurance and Registration File. MEASURES: Demographic, socio-economic, general health, comorbidity, health-related-quality-of-life, pain severity and health care utilization data were collected. The main outcome was whether subjects with prevalent neck or low back pain visited a health care provider in the previous month. RESULTS: Twenty-five percent of individuals with neck or low back pain visited a health care provider. Seeking health care was associated with disabling neck or back pain, digestive disorders, worse bodily pain and worse physical-role-functioning. Compared with medical patients, fewer chiropractic patients lived in rural areas or reported arthritis, but they reported better social and physical functioning. More patients consulting both providers reported disabling neck or back pain. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals seeking care for neck or back pain have worse health status than those who do not seek care. Patients consulting chiropractors alone report fewer comorbidities and are less limited in their activities than those consulting medical doctors.

Adult↗

A population-based survey of back pain beliefs in Canada.

STUDY DESIGN: Population-based survey. OBJECTIVES: To assess the back pain beliefs in 2 provinces in Canada to inform a population-based educational campaign. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Beliefs, attitudes, and recovery expectations appear to influence recovery from back pain, yet prevailing public opinions about the condition have been little studied. METHODS: Telephone surveys were conducted with 2400 adults in 2 Canadian provinces. Surveys included the Back Beliefs Questionnaire, and additional questions concerning age, gender, recent and lifetime back pain, coping strategies for back pain, and awareness and persuasiveness of media information concerning back pain. RESULTS: A high prevalence of back pain was reported, with a lifetime prevalence of 83.8%, and 1-week prevalence of 34.2%. Generally, a pessimistic view of back pain was held. Most agreed that back pain makes everything in life worse, will eventually stop one from working, and will become progressively worse with age. Mixed opinions were observed regarding the importance of rest and staying active. A significant minority (12.3%) reported taking time off from work for their last back pain episode. Those individuals taking time off from work held more negative back pain beliefs, including the belief that back pain should be rested until it gets better. CONCLUSIONS: Public back pain beliefs in the 2 Canadian provinces sampled are not in harmony with current scientific evidence for this highly prevalent condition. Given the mismatch between public beliefs and current evidence, strategies for reeducating the public are needed.

Adolescent↗

Complementary and alternative medical therapies for chronic low back pain: What treatments are patients willing to try?

BACKGROUND: Although back pain is the most common reason patients use complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapies, little is known about the willingness of primary care back pain patients to try these therapies. As part of an effort to refine recruitment strategies for clinical trials, we sought to determine if back pain patients are willing to try acupuncture, chiropractic, massage, meditation, and t'ai chi and to learn about their knowledge of, experience with, and perceptions about each of these therapies. METHODS: We identified English-speaking patients with diagnoses consistent with chronic low back pain using automated visit data from one health care organization in Boston and another in Seattle. We were able to confirm the eligibility status (i.e., current low back pain that had lasted at least 3 months) of 70% of the patients with such diagnoses and all eligible respondents were interviewed. RESULTS: Except for chiropractic, knowledge about these therapies was low. Chiropractic and massage had been used by the largest fractions of respondents (54% and 38%, respectively), mostly for back pain (45% and 24%, respectively). Among prior users of specific CAM therapies for back pain, massage was rated most helpful. Users of chiropractic reported treatment-related "significant discomfort, pain or harm" more often (23%) than users of other therapies (5-16%). Respondents expected massage would be most helpful (median of 7 on a 0 to 10 scale) and meditation least helpful (median of 3) in relieving their current pain. Most respondents indicated they would be "very likely" to try acupuncture, massage, or chiropractic for their back pain if they did not have to pay out of pocket and their physician thought it was a reasonable treatment option. CONCLUSIONS: Most patients with chronic back pain in our sample were interested in trying therapeutic options that lie outside the conventional medical spectrum. This highlights the need for additional studies evaluating their effectiveness and suggests that researchers conducting clinical trials of these therapies may not have difficulties recruiting patients.

Acupuncture↗

Physiotherapists' pain beliefs and their influence on the management of patients with chronic low back pain.

PURPOSE: Little is known about physiotherapists' pain beliefs and whether they influence behavior within therapeutic encounters with patients. This qualitative study explored physiotherapists' pain beliefs with the purpose of highlighting the nature of their beliefs and the role they played within their management of chronic low back pain. METHODS: Six physiotherapists were purposefully sampled along with 12 of their patients with chronic low back pain (two patients each). A qualitative exploration of physiotherapists' pain beliefs within the context of a clinical situation was carried out using semistructured interviews and observations at designated stages throughout therapeutic encounters with their patients. The data were prepared and analyzed according to a grounded theory approach. RESULTS: The themes that emerged from the data indicated that the pain beliefs of physiotherapists in this study were determined by a number of perspectives including their beliefs regarding the development of craft knowledge needed to manage chronic low back pain, beliefs regarding the clinical characteristics of patients with chronic low back pain they considered to be "good" to treat and the challenge of patients who were "difficult" to treat, and pain beliefs within the therapeutic encounter. A tentative theory was developed which proposed that the physiotherapists' biomedically oriented pain beliefs influenced their clinical reasoning processes including the explanations given to the patients. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that in order to maximize the rehabilitation potential of patients with chronic low back pain, physiotherapists need to be aware that their pain beliefs may influence their management of these patients.

Adult↗

Spectral electromyographic assessment of back muscles in patients with low back pain undergoing rehabilitation.

STUDY DESIGN: A surface electromyographic procedure for evaluating back muscle impairment was studied in patients undergoing rehabilitation for low back pain. OBJECTIVES: The results were analyzed to determine whether the electromyographic procedure was able to: 1) distinguish muscle impairment between patients with low back pain and normal subjects, and 2) monitor changes in muscle function after low back pain rehabilitation. METHODS: Patients with chronic low back pain (n = 85) were tested to measure the median frequency of the electromyographic signals from six lumbar electrode sites during sustained trunk extensions. A subset (n = 28) of these patients was re-tested after low back pain rehabilitation. A discriminant function for classifying subjects into "low back pain" and "normal" groups was formulated using the electromyographic data from a subset of the patients with low back pain (n = 28) and a normative sample (n = 42). Results for this "learning" sample were compared with results using the same function on the remaining "holdout" sample of patients (n = 57) and an additional normative sample (n = 6). Differences in electromyographic parameters before and after rehabilitation also were analyzed. RESULTS: The discriminant function classified subjects into low back pain and normal groups, with 86% and 89% correct classification for the "learning" and "holdout" samples, respectively. These classification results were independent of trunk extensor strength. Changes in median frequency after the rehabilitation program were consistent with improvements in back muscle fatigability. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate how electromyographic spectral measurements may be used to identify and monitor back muscle impairment in patients undergoing rehabilitation for low back pain.

Adult↗

Glomus tumor as a cause of chronic low back pain: case report.

STUDY DESIGN: A case of chronic low back pain caused by a glomus tumor that persisted more than 30 years is presented. OBJECTIVE: To emphasize the need to consider skin tumors in the differential diagnosis of low back pain. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Chronic low back pain can be caused by a myriad of factors. There are six relatively common skin tumors, which present as painful lesions. As seen in the reported case, if they occur in the lumbar region, they can cause low back pain. METHODS: A subject with low back pain underwent an excision biopsy of a localized area of tenderness where his symptoms were reproduced when light pressure was applied. RESULTS: Histology confirmed that a glomus tumor accounted for the subject's pain. CONCLUSIONS: Painful skin tumors may cause low back pain and need to be considered in the differential diagnosis of chronic low back pain.

Chronic Disease↗

The current approach to the medical diagnosis of low back pain.

A small number of patients who present with low back pain will have an underlying medical disorder as the source of their pain. Patients who fail to respond to conservative management with controlled physical activity and nonnarcotic analgesics should have a thorough re-evaluation to detect possible sources of nonmechanical pain. Symptoms of fever, weight loss, recumbency pain, morning stiffness, acute severe pain, or colicky back pain represent specific entry points into the algorithm for diagnosis of back pain from underlying systemic illnesses. These patients will generally require a plain roentgenographic examination with subsequent scintography, MRI, CT, laboratory work, and biopsy as indicated by any positive findings during the diagnostic work-up. Therapy for individuals with nonmechanical low back pain is directed at the specific medical disorder that is the cause of their symptoms.

Algorithms↗

The prognosis of low back pain in general practice.

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective cohort study on low back pain in consecutive patients in general practice, in which potential prognostic indicators at baseline and at the 1-year follow-up examination were assessed by means of four weekly questionnaires. OBJECTIVES: To identify prognostic indicators of the duration of low back pain in general practice and the occurrence of a relapse. BACKGROUND: Little is known about the prognosis of low back pain in general practice. Different designs and different results of preceding studies make drawing conclusions about the prognostic indicators, in any, of the course of low back pain in general practice difficult. METHODS: For a period of 2 years, 15 general practitioners from Amsterdam and surrounding areas studied consecutive patients with chronic low back pain and those with a recent onset of low back pain. A large number of potential prognostic indicators were assessed at the initial visit. After the initial visit, each patient was monitored for a period of 12 months. The follow-up assessment was conducted with four weekly postal questionnaires. The associations among the potential prognostic indicators, the duration of the index episode, and the occurrence of a relapse were analyzed using multivariate Cox regression and logistic regression analysis, respectively. RESULTS: Of the 605 patients identified, 443 were included in the follow-up period of assessment; the questionnaires were completed by 269 patients. In general, patients with less severe low back pain participated less often or did not complete the follow-up study. Thirty-five percent of the population still experienced low back pain after 12 weeks, and 10% still experienced it after 1 year. Approximately three of every four patients whose index episode ended before the end of the follow-up period had one or more relapses within a year. The analysis resulted in a model with four variables predicting the duration of the low back pain, including "the duration of the low back pain preceding the initial visit," "receiving physical therapy," "pain intensity", and "history of back surgery." Daily functioning appeared to be the only variable that was significantly associated with the occurrence of a relapse. CONCLUSIONS: Only a few variables appear to be related to the clinical course of low back pain seen in general practice. In particular, the duration preceding the initial visit and, unexpectedly, receiving physical therapy were both associated with a longer duration of low back pain.

Adult↗