New research suggests that smoking could increase your risk of back pain. In one study of 95,000 nurses, women who smoked were three times more likely to develop psoriatic arthritis. This inflammatory arthritis causes pain in the low back and sacrum. Past smokers were 1.5 times more likely to develop psoriatic arthritis, and women who [...]
Many patients with back pain wonder how to prevent their pain from worsening or recurring. A recent literature review revealed that exercise may be the most effective way to prevent pain. The review included an analysis of 20 scientific studies that tested various interventions for preventing back pain including exercise, ergonomic/back education, training in ergonomic [...]
Online tools can help patients relieve back pain, a new study suggests. 76% of patients had improved clinical symptoms after receiving a web-based intervention. The treatment included a combination of patient education on sitting posture and exercises video routines. Exercises focused on increasing strength, mobility, and postural stability. Patients in the web-based group had greater improvements [...]
Conventional treatment of sacroiliac joint pain frequently falls short of providing effective relief, a new literature review suggests. An estimated 10-25% of low-back pain patients suffer from pain deriving in the sacroiliac (SI) joints in the pelvis. The literature review evaluated 11 studies on the treatment of SI joint pain. Treatments included injections of local [...]
iPads and other tablet devices are soaring in popularity. It’s predicated that by 2015, more than 80 million Americans will use tablets regularly. While tablets provide new convenience to mobile computing, the devices are putting excessive strain on our necks and backs according to a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health. Daily [...]
Back pain, like other health problems, should now be “considered as a chronic recurring condition” argue the authors of a new study on acute low-back pain. The authors found that symptoms of acute and persistent low-back pain are likely to last longer than six weeks, and can even last up to a year. Since acute-low [...]
Fibromyalgia patients are at risk of vitamin D deficiency according to a new study from Ireland. In the study, 36% of fibromyalgia patients had deficient levels of vitamin D and 62% had insufficient levels. That meant only 15% of patients were getting adequate levels of the vitamin. The patients were mostly middle-aged women. Researchers pointed [...]
A new study from Italy looked at 210 patients with chronic low back pain. The patients were randomly assigned to chiropractic care, back school, or physical therapy. After treatment, all of the patients were compared on scores for disability levels. The chiropractic patients reported the best response and the lowest levels of disability of the [...]
Patients with acute low-back pain rarely take sick leave but frequently develop chronic symptoms, a new study from the journal Spine suggests. In the study, researchers worked with 605 acute low-back pain patients with and without sciatica who were being treated in a primary-care setting. The patients were evaluated for initial pain and disability levels. [...]
You tweaked your back, pulled a muscle, or injured yourself lifting something incorrectly and suddenly you’ve got a shooting pain in your back. These sudden, temporary episodes of low-back pain are characterized as acute low-back pain rather than chronic pain. Acute low-back pain episodes are thought to last no longer than three months. Acute back [...]
