New Guidance On Making Work Less Of A Pain In The Back
New guidance for employers, patients and doctors on helping people with back pain return to work will be announced on Tuesday May 5 at the University of Leicester. It is estimated that it costs society in excess of В 12 billion a year with people taking time off work because of back pain. Around 80% of these costs, were not associated with healthcare but due to lost work production and associated wage replacement benefits. "These figures demonstrate the importance of maintaining people with chronic pain in useful employment, " says Professor Paul Watson of the University of Leicester Department of Health Sciences who was among a group of researchers investigating back pain and its impact in the workplace.
Three Clinical Presentations On Tapentadol Extended Release Tablets For Chronic Pain Featured At 2009 American Pain Society Annual Meeting
Chronic pain is a significant medical challenge in the United States, and chronic low back pain is the most common cause of disability in developed countries. An estimated 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain each year. If left undertreated, chronic pain can impair an individual's ability to carry out daily activities and diminish quality of life. Three clinical presentations about the use of tapentadol extended release tablets to treat patients with chronic low back pain, including pivotal Phase 3 safety, efficacy and gastrointestinal tolerability data, will be discussed during the poster sessions of the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS) in San Diego, California on Thursday, May 7, and Friday, May 8, 2009.
Real And Simulated Acupuncture Appear More Effective Than Usual Care For Back Pain
Three types of acupuncture therapy-an individually tailored program, standard therapy and a simulation involving toothpicks at key acupuncture points-appear more effective than usual care for chronic low back pain, according to a report in the May 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Back pain costs Americans at least $37 billion annually, according to background information in the article. Many patients with this condition are unsatisfied with traditional medical care and seek help from complementary and alternative care providers, including acupuncturists. "Back pain is the leading reason for visits to licensed acupuncturists, and medical acupuncturists consider acupuncture an effective treatment for back pain, " the authors write.
SPINE Trial Shows That Acupuncture Eases Chronic Low Back Pain
Acupuncture can help people with chronic low back pain feel less bothered by their symptoms and function better in their daily activities, according to the largest randomized trial of its kind, published in the May 11, 2009 Archives of Internal Medicine. But the SPINE (Stimulating Points to Investigate Needling Efficacy) trial raises questions about how the ancient practice actually works. Compared to the group that got usual care, results were similar for all three of the SPINE trial's acupuncture groups: individualized, standardized, and simulated (without going through skin). Of the people who got any kind of acupuncture, an extra one in five were functioning significantly better at the end of the seven-week treatment - and an extra one in eight were still functioning better at one year.
AxioMed Spine Corporation Receives CE Mark For Freedom R Lumbar Disc
AxioMed® Spine Corporation announces the receipt of CE Mark approval for its Freedom® Lumbar Disc, an elastomeric total spinal disc replacement device. The CE Mark approval was received from the notified body after review of the company's multi-center European clinical study and its portfolio of biocompatibility and biomechanical testing. This data also supported AxioMed's Investigational Device Exemption approval by the US Food and Drug Administration. The CE Mark clears AxioMed for the introduction of the Freedom® Lumbar Disc into the EU Market. Patrick McBrayer, AxioMed's President and CEO stated, "The Freedom® Lumbar Disc is the only elastomeric lumbar total disc replacement device to receive CE Mark approval based on a rigorous multi-center clinical study conducted in the European Union.
New Guideline For Low-Back Pain Interventions, Surgery Issued By The American Pain Society
The American Pain Society (APS) has issued a new clinical practice guideline for low back pain that emphasizes the use of noninvasive treatments over interventional procedures, as well as shared decision making between provider and patient. The findings are published in the current (May 1, 2009) issue of the journal Spine. The new APS guideline, based on an extensive review of existing research, provides clinicians with eight recommendations to help determine the best way to treat patients with low-back pain. It also expands its current and previously published guideline for initial evaluation and management of this chronic condition. "These recommendations are based on an even more complete body of evidence than was available just a few years ago.
Comfrey Root Extract Ointment Relieves Back Pain Fast
[Efficacy and safety of comfrey root extract ointment in the treatment of acute upper or lower back pain: results of a double blind randomised placebo controlled multicentre trial Online First Br J Sports Med 2009; doi: 10.1136/bjsm.2009.058677] An ointment containing an extract of comfrey root quickly and effectively relieves back pain, finds industry sponsored research published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The authors base their findings on 120 people with upper or lower back pain who were treated three times a day for five days with either a dummy ointment or one containing comfrey root extract. The participants were all aged between 18 and 60 and rubbed on 4 g of ointment at each application.
New Survey Reveals Mums Blame Back Pain On Children And Buggies
Children are a pain in the back! New survey reveals that 83% of Mums suffer back pain directly related to caring for young children A new survey* conducted by Maclaren Buggys and BackCare, 'The Charity for Healthier Backs', has revealed that 83% of Mums suffering from back pain believe it has been caused or exacerbated by their children. Mums cite pregnancy as well as the day-to-day lifting and carrying of their children as the main reasons but the survey highlighted a significant proportion of these mums (73%) also link back pain to pushing, folding or lifting pushchairs. Sash Newman, Chief Executive for BackCare comments "A pushchair is one of the most important pieces of baby equipment a parent buys - they will be using it constantly for years, not just months.
To Ease Aching Back, Exercise More, Not Less
People with lower back pain are better off exercising more, not less. A University of Alberta study of 240 men and women with chronic lower-back pain showed that those who exercised four days a week had a better quality of life, 28 per cent less pain and 36 per cent less disability, while those who hit the gym only two or three days a week did not show the same level of change. "While it could be assumed that someone with back pain should not be exercising frequently, our findings show that working with weights four days a week provides the greatest amount of pain relief and quality of life, " said Robert Kell, lead author of the study and an assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of Alberta, Augustana Campus.
CE Mark Extended For Disc Dynamics' DASCOR R Disc Arthroplasty System
Disc Dynamics, Inc., a leading developer of minimally invasive treatment options for low back pain caused by degenerative disc disease (DDD), announced that the CE Mark received in the European Union for its DASCOR® Disc Arthroplasty System has been expanded to incorporate a posterior-lateral surgical approach, as well as an endoscopic approach. "DASCOR is the only motion preservation technology that can be delivered through multiple surgical approaches, " said Steven Healy, president and CEO of Disc Dynamics. "Surgeons can now match the preferred surgical technique with the patient's anatomy." The device consists of a two-part curable polyurethane and an expandable polyurethane balloon that is inserted into the disc nucleus space after the desiccated nucleus has been removed.