Avoid painkillers when treating back pain

Doctors often prescribe painkillers as the primary line of treatment for lower back pain, in response to American Academy of Physicians. Now, recent college guidelines for treating lower back pain encourage patients to try massage, yoga, exercise, acupuncture and other similar therapies before reaching for a painkiller. Staying lively and waiting it out could also be enough to make the pain go away in some cases, in response to the rules. “The analogy for acute back pain is the common cold,” spine researcher Rick Deyo, MD, MPH, told The New York Times in February. “It’s very common and very annoying when it happens. But in most cases, it’s not anything serious.” Lower back pain is one of the common reasons for doctor visits within the U.S., in response to the rules, released Feb. 14. “Lower back pain is associated with high costs, including health care costs and indirect costs from missed work days or reduced productivity,” researchers wrote in the rules. They developed the rules after reviewing research on treating lower back pain. Their recommendations include the next: o Most patients with acute lower back pain improve over time, no matter treatment. These patients should select heat, massage, acupuncture, or other methods over pain medications. o Patients with chronic lower back pain should first select treatment that features exercise, acupuncture, mindfulness-based stress reduction, tai chi, yoga, biofeedback, and other non-drug therapies. o Patients with chronic lower back pain who’ve failed to answer non-drug treatments should first select non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Opioids ought to be used provided that the potential advantages outweigh the risks to patients. A recent blog on the topic Spine-Health.com offered similar suggestions for treating lower back pain without medication. o Do aerobic exercise. o Exercise your core muscles. o Get a massage. o Meditate. o Address sleep problems. o Stretch your hamstrings twice a day. o Apply heat or cold to alleviate pain.

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