Jennifer Dooren writing in the Wall Street Journal reported that, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Weekly yoga classes may help to reduce pain in certain individuals with pain in the lower back. The research found that yoga and stretching were equally effective in easing chronic back pain and improving function, but participants had to practice each regularly to see benefits. The subjects in both groups took weekly 75-minute classes and practiced yoga or deep stretching at home for about 20 minutes at a time at least three days a week. The study was done by the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle. Another study from the UK published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found similar results.
Michael Vlessides writing in Pain Medicine News reported that chiropractic manipulation of the spine is effective for treating chronic low back pain according to a meta-analysis published in the Cochrane Database Systemic Review. According to lead author, Dr. Sidney Rubenstein, Spinal manipulation appears to be no better or no worse than that of other existing therapies for chronic low back pain. Thus spinal manipulation should be considered a valid choice for patients who suffer from this condition.
“Surgeon Enthusiasm” Major Reason Recommend Surgery For Back Pain.
Robert Preidt writing in HealthDay reported, “Surgeon enthusiasm’ is a major reason why surgeons in some areas are more likely to recommend surgery for low back problems, according to a” study published in the journal Spine. For the study, researchers “analyzed data on more than 50,000 low back surgeries performed in the province of Ontario, Canada, between 2002 and 2006.” They “found that surgeons in counties with higher rates of spinal surgery were more likely to recommend surgery for back problems, meaning they had more enthusiasm. Spinal surgery rates were 20 percent higher in counties ranked in the top quarter of surgeon enthusiasm, compared with counties in the bottom quarter of surgeon enthusiasm.”
Anahad O’Connor writing in the New York Times reports that “a growing number of studies are finding that chronic back pain has a strong genetic component.” For example, an analysis published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, based on records from a “large health and genealogic database to study more than a million Utah residents,” found that having a “second-degree relative (aunt, uncle or grandparent) or third-degree relative (cousin) with the condition increased a person’s risk, regardless of environmental factors.” Moreover, the data indicated that having “an immediate family member raised a person’s risk more than four times.”
Janice Lloyd writing in USA Today reported, “Preventing back pain might be as easy as getting up from your chair and walking every couple of hours,” according to Dr. Michael Schafer at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons meeting. Dr. Schafer said that patients should see a physician “if pain lasts more than three weeks or if there is numbness or tingling in a leg.”
