BACK PAIN TREATMENT

"Exercise is the best medicine to banish back pain and stop people taking sick days," reports the Daily Mirror. While this may be true, the research in question did not look at treatments for existing back pain.

In fact, the researchers reviewed previously gathered evidence about what helps prevent, not treat, lower back pain. Also, the evidence that exercise reduced sick leave was judged to be poor quality.

The review found exercise with or without education on the back and back pain was the most likely intervention to prevent lower back pain. This included core muscle strengthening, stretching and aerobic exercise carried out over a period of about 3 to 18 months.

Education alone, back belts, shoe insoles, and ergonomics (changes to objects such as chairs to make them more "back friendly") were not found to prevent lower back pain. But this finding was based on low-quality studies, so it should be viewed with caution.

Some of these interventions, such as shoe insoles, were only studied in army recruits, so the results may not be applicable to other population groups.

These limitations aside, exercise would seem to be the best option based on the available evidence. Exercise is known to offer a range of benefits. This review suggests preventing lower back pain is another potential benefit.

Source: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2016/01January/Pages/Exercise-is-most-effective-method-of-preventing-lower-back-pain.aspx