2 weeks Ago By Nina Agrawal
Researchers looked at 56 treatments for acute and chronic pain. Few of them were effective. Acetaminophen.
Acupuncture. Massage. Muscle relaxants.
Cannabinoids. Opioids. The list of available treatments for low back pain goes on and on.
But there’s not good evidence that these treatments actually reduce the pain, according to a new study that summarised the results of hundreds of randomised trials. Low back pain affects an estimated one in four American adults and is the leading contributor to disability globally. In most diagnosed cases, the pain is considered “nonspecific,” meaning it doesn’t have a clear cause.
That’s also partly what makes it so hard to treat. In the study, published this month in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, researchers reviewed 301 randomised trials that compared 56 non-invasive treatments for low back pain, like medications and exercise , with placebos. They used a statistical method to combine the results of those studies and draw conclusions, a process known as a meta-analysis.
The researchers found that only one treatment – the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, like ibuprofen and aspirin – was effective at reducing short-term, or acute, low back pain. Five other treatments had good enough evidence to be considered effective at reducing chronic low back pain. These were exercise; spinal manipulation, like you might receive from a chiropractor ; taping the lower back; antidepressants; and the application of a cream that creates a warming sensation.
Even so, the benefit was small..
