2016 in Review - Ten articles about low back pain

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Low back pain is a difficult to treat global health burden, one of the reasons for this is that there is often no clear identifiable cause. There is much debate about the best way to manage low back pain, some of the strongest reviews support the need for a multi-modal therapeutic approach. A multi-modal approach can involve a number of management strategies that include but is not limited to education, reassurance, analgesic medicines and a number of non pharmacological therapies.

With the many documented biological and psychosocial benefits to a massage therapy, we are uniquely suited to help those who suffer from low back pain. One speed bump still in the way is the lack of systematic reviews and randomized control trials of massage therapy. There has been some movement it the last couple of years, but because because of the lack of a research culture in the profession these things take time.

For those who suffer from low back pain, massage therapy has been shown to be a safe, effective non-pharmacological therapeutic intervention that is simple to carry out, economical, and has very few side effects. Existing evidence suggests that massage therapy decreases the frequency, intensity and duration of low back pain, giving people confidence in their recovery and may lead to a reduced need for additional medication. To help massage therapists better understand low back pain here we provide a break down some of the research.


Ten Articles About Low Back Pain


- ONE -

Cost-Effectiveness of Non-Invasive and Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Low Back Pain

Andronis, L., Kinghorn, P., Qiao, S., Whitehurst, D. G., Durrell, S., & Mcleod, H. (2016). Cost-Effectiveness of Non-Invasive and Non-Pharmacological Interventions for Low Back Pain: A Systematic Literature Review. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy.


- TWO -

Effects of Myofascial Release in Non-specific Chronic Low Back Pain

Arguisuelas, M. D., Lisón, J. F., Sánchez-Zuriaga, D., Martínez-Hurtado, I., & Doménech-Fernández, J. (2016). Effects of Myofascial Release in Non-specific Chronic Low Back Pain. Spine.


- THREE -

Resolution of Lumbar Disk Herniation without Surgery

Hong, J., Ball, P.A. (2016). Resolution of Lumbar Disk Herniation without Surgery. N Engl J Med.


- FOUR -

Non-specific low back pain

Maher, C., Underwood, M., & Buchbinder, R. (2016). Non-specific low back pain. The Lancet.


- FIVE -

Consensus at last! Long-term results of all randomized controlled trials show that fusion is no better than non-operative care in improving pain and disability in chronic low back pain

- SIX -

Evidence for the existence of nociceptors in rat thoracolumbar fascia

Mense, S., & Hoheisel, U. (2016). Evidence for the existence of nociceptors in rat thoracolumbar fascia. Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies.


- SEVEN -

Unraveling the Complexity of Low Back Pain

O'sullivan, P., Caneiro, J. P., O'keeffe, M., & O'sullivan, K. (2016). Unraveling the Complexity of Low Back Pain. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy.


- EIGHT -

Combining manual therapy with pain neuroscience education in the treatment of chronic low back pain

- NINE -

Clinical practice guidelines for the noninvasive management of low back pain

Wong, J., Côté, P., Sutton, D., Randhawa, K., Yu, H., Varatharajan, S., . . . Taylor-Vaisey, A. (2016). Clinical practice guidelines for the noninvasive management of low back pain: A systematic review by the Ontario Protocol for Traffic Injury Management (OPTIMa) Collaboration. European Journal of Pain.


- TEN -

Mechanical deformation of posterior thoracolumbar fascia after myofascial release in healthy men

Wong, K., Chai, H., Chen, Y., Wang, C., Shau, Y., & Wang, S. (2016). Mechanical deformation of posterior thoracolumbar fascia after myofascial release in healthy men: A study of dynamic ultrasound. Manual Therapy.