Fast Five Quiz: Back and Neck Pain

Stephen Kishner, MD, MHA

Disclosures

June 11, 2020

According to 2020 North American Spine Society guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of low back pain, evidence is insufficient to make a recommendation for or against the use of innominate kinematics for the assessment of sacroiliac joint pain. The guidelines also found insufficient evidence to indicate that body mass index is a potential predictor or low back pain recurrence.

The guidelines recommend that psychosocial factors and workplace factors be assessed when counseling patients regarding the risk for conversion from acute to chronic low back pain. They also recommend that psychosocial factors be used as prognostic factors for return to work following an episode of acute low back pain. Pain severity and functional impairment should be used to stratify risk for conversion from acute to chronic low back pain.

The guidelines recommend topical capsicum as an effective treatment for low back pain on a short-term basis (3 months or less). They recommend against the use of antidepressants as well as oral or intravenous steroids in the treatment of low back pain. They also suggest that opioid pain medications should be used cautiously and be limited and restricted to short duration for the treatment of low back pain.

Read more about low back pain.

Comments

3090D553-9492-4563-8681-AD288FA52ACE
Comments on Medscape are moderated and should be professional in tone and on topic. You must declare any conflicts of interest related to your comments and responses. Please see our Commenting Guide for further information. We reserve the right to remove posts at our sole discretion.

processing....