The Solution to Low Back Pain?
Recently, I have had several patients come into the clinic reporting low back pain that started in March. Several of them told me that their back pain started because they have not been able to receive their weekly massage due to the pandemic.
There are benefits to massage and hands-on therapy, but we at TFG believe that many patients who experience low back pain can learn to be autonomous and take control of their health.
We’ll be looking at the systematic review, “Effective treatment options for musculoskeletal pain in primary care: A systematic overview of current evidence, the authors discussed different treatment approaches and their outcomes in response to musculoskeletal issues”
…Or other words, What is the best way to deal with muscle and joint pain?
The results might surprise you…
“Current evidence shows significant positive effects in favour of exercise on pain, function, quality of life and work related outcomes in the short and long-term for all the musculoskeletal pain presentations (compared to no exercise or other control) but the evidence regarding optimal content or delivery of exercise in each case is inconclusive.”
“Available evidence suggests beneficial effects of psychosocial interventions, particularly for patients identified as having a poor prognosis prior to treatment.”
“Despite the limited evidence-base, there were strong recommendations for the use of self-management advice and education as a first-line treatment option for musculoskeletal pain.”
Exercise, psychosocial interventions, and self-management advice can help with your low back pain? Yup and in fact, this review encompasses musculoskeletal pain presentations in general. In other words, YOU can take control of your health by making sure to stay active, stay friendly, and stay educated!
So what do you do if you have low back pain? If you have an understanding of the body you might not need to come into the clinic at all! If you need some guidance see your local physical therapist for a couple of weeks to get you started. We as physical therapists are here to help guide you on this journey to taking health into your own hands!
Cheers and stay safe!
Enoch Quon, PT, DPT, CPT
Source: Babatunde, Opeyemi O., et al. “Effective Treatment Options for Musculoskeletal Pain in Primary Care: A Systematic Overview of Current Evidence.” Plos One, vol. 12, no. 6, 2017, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0178621.