Acetaminophen. Acupuncture. Massage.
Muscle relaxants. Cannabinoids. Opioids.
The list of available treatments for low back pain goes on and on. But there’s not good evidence that these treatments actually reduce the pain, according to a new study that summarized the results of hundreds of randomized trials. Low back pain affects an estimated one in four American adults and is the to disability globally.
In most diagnosed cases, the pain is considered “nonspecific,” meaning it doesn’t have a clear cause. That’s also partly what makes it so hard to treat. In the study, in the journal BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, researchers reviewed 301 randomized trials that compared 56 noninvasive treatments for low back pain, like medications and exercise, with placebos.
They used a statistical method to combine the results of those studies and draw conclusions, a process known as a meta-analysis. The researchers found that only one treatment — the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, like ibuprofen and aspirin — was effective at reducing short-term, or acute, low back pain. Five other treatments had good enough evidence to be considered effective at reducing chronic low back pain.
These were exercise; spinal manipulation, like you might receive from a chiropractor; ; antidepressants; and the application of a cream that creates a warming sensation. Even so, the benefit was small. “The big takeaways from this paper are that low back pain is exceptionally di.