Pain medicine Terapia 2021, 7 ( 402 ) : 82 - 90
Management of patients with low back pain ‒ state of art 2021
Summary:
The aim of this article is to present the current recommendations for the management of patients with low back pain based on the recommendations of experts from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the American College of Physicians (ACP). Nonspecific low back pain is a common pain syndrome significantly worsening the patientsʼ functioning and being one of the most common reasons for visiting a doctor. The article presents the principles of clinical evaluation of the patient, which aims to exclude extraspinal and serious causes of back pain, and to assess psychosocial factors that worsen the treatment outcome. In symptomatic treatment of patients with acute nonspecific low back pain, patient education, avoidance of bed rest and maintenance of the current activity are the procedures of first choice. The drugs of the first choice are NSAIDs, myorelaxants, the second choice ‒ short term weak opioid analgesics. In patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain, non-pharmacological management and pharmacotherapy with NSAIDs and weak opioid analgesics are recommended. The article discusses the options of pharmacotherapy, with particular emphasis on analgesic combination, and methods of non-pharmacological treatment. In clinical practice, any acute episode of low back pain in a patient requires appropriate treatment to reduce the risk of developing chronic low back pain.
Keywords: low back pain, acute pain, chronic pain, pain management
If you would like to get the full article in Polish please contact our editorial office via email.
Add new comment