Care Guides
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Low back pain is one of the top reasons that Americans see their doctor. Most Americans, moreover, experience back pain at one time during their life. Many back related injuries happen at work. But, you can change that. There are many things you can do to lower your chances of getting back pain.
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- I. Back to Basics
- Step 1: What is low back pain?
- Step 2: Know your back anatomy
- Step 3: Causes of low back pain
- Step 4: Are you at risk?
- II. First Steps
- Step 5: What to do when pain begins
- Step 6: Seeing your doctor
- Step 7: What tests might be ordered?
- Step 8: When is low back pain a serious sign?
- III. Taking Control: Treatment and Prevention
- Step 9: Exercise and physical therapy
- Step 10: Change your work habits
- Step 11: Medications
- Step 12: Other treatments
 | Learn More Exercise: Too much, too little, just right Drug treatment - COX-2 inhibitors Drug treatment - muscle relaxants |
 | Helpful Handouts |
References
Acupuncture. NIH Consens Statement. 1997;15(5):1-34.
Cherkin, DC, Eisenberg D, Sherman KJ, et al. Randomized trial comparing traditional Chinese medical acupuncture, therapeutic massage, and self-care education for chronic low back pain. Arch Intern Med. 2001;161(8):1081-8.
Eisenberg DM, Post DE, David RB, et al. Addition of choice of complementary therapies to usual care for acute low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. Spine. 2007;32(2):151-8.
Raty HP, Kujala UMm Videman T. Lifetime musculoskeletal symptoms and injuries among former elite male athletes. Int J Sports Med. 1997;18(8):625-32.
Tropiano P, Huang RC, Girardi FP, et al. Lumbar total disc replacement. Seven to eleven-year follow-up. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2005;87(3):490-6.
Walach H, Guthlin C, Konig M. Efficacy of massage therapy in chronic pain: a pragmatic randomized trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2003;9(6):837-46.
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Reviewed By: Benjamin D. Roye, MD, MPH, Orthopaedic Surgery, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
