Most back pain treatments don't work, researchers find

Most treatments for back pain do not work and even the few that do are little help, a global review has found.

- Denis Campbell

Six in 10 UK adults suffer from a sore lower back at some point, with symptoms including restricted movement, inability to work and reluctance to mix socially.

Some sufferers feel better in weeks but others can find their life dominated by chronic pain for years.

The range of treatments extends to painkillers, acupuncture, stretching, massage, anti-inflammatory drugs, laser and light therapy and manipulation of the spine.

However, the bad news for the many who endure back pain is that only six of the 56 non-surgical treatments analysed in the research were effective and even those yielded only "small" relief.

The other 50 treatments either did not work, only modestly reduced pain or might even worsen it.

That is the conclusion of the most comprehensive review yet of the worldwide evidence on the analgesic - painkilling - impact of non-surgical treatments on back pain.

The researchers were led by Dr Aidan Cashin, deputy director of the pain impact centre at Neuroscience Research Australia.

They examined 301 randomised and controlled trials that investigated 56 treatments or combinations of treatments, such as anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants. The trials were carried out in 44 countries, including in Europe, the US and Asia.