Stop offering ineffective back care treatments

A new series of papers has suggested that too often patients are let down by the treatment they are offered for lower back pain, encouraging medics to stop offering ineffective and potentially harmful treatments.

As the leading cause of disability globally, most back pain is best managed by keeping active. However, the study in The Lancet says that the majority of strong drugs, injections and surgery have limited evidence that they aid pain relief or recovery.

According to the research, most adults will experience back pain will also experience recurring episodes within a year.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence says that health staff should not offer acupuncture, traction or electrotherapy to treat back pain, with equipment such as belts, corsets, foot supports or shoes with special soles also dismissed.

Opioid pain medications, which is often given instead of anti-inflammatory drugs, can cause dependence.

Martin Underwood, from Warwick University, one of the authors of The Lancet papers, said: "Our current treatment approaches are failing to reduce the burden of back pain disability. We need to change the way we approach back pain treatment in the UK and help low- and middle-income countries to avoid developing high-cost services of limited effectiveness. Quite a lot of people get exposed to high-tech medical and invasive procedures. There's very little evidence base to support their use."

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