Articles: low-back-pain.
-
Tohoku J. Exp. Med. · Feb 2020
Upper Extremity Pain Is Associated with Lower Back Pain among Young Basketball Players: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Basketball is a major sport worldwide among different age groups that leads to a high frequency of injuries at multiple body sites. Upper and lower extremities and lower back are common pain sites in basketball players; however, there is little information about the relationship between upper or lower extremity pain and lower back pain. This study elucidated the associations between upper extremity (shoulder and elbow) pain and lower back pain (LBP) among young basketball players. ⋯ This study indicates that upper extremity and shoulder pain is associated with LBP among young basketball players. Assessing for lower back pain, as well as elbow and/or shoulder pain, may help prevent severe injuries in young basketball players. In conclusion, parents and coaches should be properly re-educated to help improve lower back, upper extremity, and shoulder pain among young basketball players.
-
To assess the effectiveness of a clinical decision support tool consisting of an electronic medical record best practice alert (BPA) on the frequency of lumbar imaging in patients with acute low back pain in the ambulatory care setting, and to explore why providers order imaging outside of clinical guidelines. ⋯ The present study demonstrates the effectiveness of a simple, low-cost clinical decision support tool in reducing imaging rates for patients with acute low back pain. We also identify reasons why providers order imaging outside of clinical guidelines.
-
Whiplash injuries result from an acceleration-deceleration injury of the cervical spine. The associated symptoms may include neck pain/stiffness; cervicogenic headaches; interscapular pain; upper limb pain, paraesthesia and weakness. Current treatment protocols recommend conservative management of low-grade whiplash. ⋯ Whiplash poses a significant societal economic burden in Ireland and was associated with prolonged symptoms including neck pain and upper limb neuropathic symptoms in this cohort. Associated low-back pain was common. Litigation was linked with presentation in all cases.
-
Somatosensory abnormalities are linked to clinical pain outcomes in individuals with spinal pain. However, a range of factors might confound the relationship between altered somatosensory function and clinical pain outcomes. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the literature to assess the level of evidence of associations between psychological, social, physical activity, and sleep measures and somatosensory function (assessed via sensory psychophysical testing) among individuals with spinal pain. ⋯ Psychological factors are associated negatively with pain thresholds and they need to be adjusted when establishing predictive relationships between somatosensory function and pain outcomes in individuals with spinal pain.
-
Review
Domains of chronic low back pain and assessing treatment effectiveness: A clinical perspective.
Nonspecific chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a common clinical condition that has impacts at both the individual and societal level. Pain intensity is a primary outcome used in clinical practice to quantify the severity of CLBP and the efficacy of its treatment; however, pain is a subjective experience that is impacted by a multitude of factors. Moreover, differences in effect sizes for pain intensity are not observed between common conservative treatments, such as spinal manipulative therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, acupuncture, and exercise training. ⋯ In addition to pain intensity, we recommend that clinicians should consider assessing the multidimensional nature of CLBP by including physical (disability, muscular strength and endurance, performance in activities of daily living, and body composition), psychological (kinesiophobia, fear-avoidance, pain catastrophizing, pain self-efficacy, depression, anxiety, and sleep quality), social (social functioning and work absenteeism), and health-related quality-of-life measures, depending on what is deemed relevant for each individual. This review also provides practical recommendations to clinicians for the assessment of outcomes beyond pain intensity, including information on how large a change must be for it to be considered "real" in an individual patient. This information can guide treatment selection when working with an individual with CLBP.