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Low Back Pain Literature Review

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Low back pain is one of the most common complaint seen in the hospital. The purpose of this review is to identify the recent advances in the management of low back pain. This review shows diagnostic studies, pharmacological, interventional, surgical, and non-pharmacological management of low back pain. Many patients with low back pain receive routine imaging for the spins which include lumber radiology, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). According to the American College of Physicians(ACP), and American Pain Society (APS) recommendations, the routine imaging dose not result in any clinical improvement or benefits. Furthermore, the imaging is only recommended for patients who are with sever progressive neurological …show more content…

They found out that there were no difference in pain, function, and quality of life between the patients who received a routine imaging such as CT and MRI, and the patients who were received only the routine care without imaging (Chou, 2011). To manage low back pain medications are commonly used to manage low back pain. Paracetamol and Non Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) are recommended as the first line of medications. However, there is no strong evidence that support the use of paracetamol and the NSAIDs are not recommended for elderly patients with gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and renal comorbidity (Morlion, B., 2013). Another type of medications is opioids but they should be used with caution. They have many adverse events, and causes abuse with long-term use. The benefits should outweighs the risks to be used for chronic low back pain management for a longtime (Morlion, B., …show more content…

Also, anticonvulsants show an effect when combined with opioids and muscle relaxants are more effective with acute low back pain than chronic (Morlion, B., 2013). Managing low back pain is not confined to medications, there is also interventional techniques including epidural steroids injections and facet joint interventions. Facet joint intervention “ involves percutaneous placement of radiofrequency electrode on the lumbar medial branches to deliver an electric current to coagulate sensory nerves”. Furthermore, surgery can be an option as with spinal decompression, spinal fusion or disc arthroplasty (Morlion, B.,

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