Differences in Comorbidities on Low Back Pain and Low Back Related Leg Pain

Objective: Investigate the influence of external factors such as depression and BMI among subjects with primary severe low back pain (LBP) and low back related leg pain (LBLP). Background: The report of disability in patients with LBP may be significantly influenced by confounding and moderating variables. No similar studies have examined the influence of these factors on LBLP. Methods: This study included 1,448 consecutive subjects referred to a tertiary spine clinic. Unconditional binary logistic regression was used to determine the influence of comorbidities on the relationship between self‐reported back and leg pain. A change in estimate formula was used to quantify this relationship. Results: Among those subjects with primary LBP the unadjusted odds ratio was 8.58 (95% CI 4.87, 15.10) and when adjusting for BMI, depression and smoking was 5.94 (95% CI 3.04, 11.60) resulting in a 36.7% change due to confounding by these comorbidities. Among those with primary LBLP, the unadjusted odds ratio was 4.49 (95% CI 2.78, 7.27) and when adjusting for BMI and depression was 4.60 (95% CI 2.58, 8.19) resulting in a 1.7% change due to confounding by these comorbidities. Conclusion: The disability statuses of the patients with primary LBP in this study were more significantly affected by comorbidities of BMI, depression and smoking than patients with report of LBLP. However, these comorbidities contribute little to the relationship of primary low back related leg pain and Oswestry scores ≥ 40.     

椎间盘源性下腰痛治疗进展

下腰痛是多发病,近来椎间盘源性下腰痛成为学术热点,相应的治疗也取得了长足的进步,但各有利弊,现就其治疗方法进行综述。     

Risk Indicators in Low Back Pain

Injuries leading to low back pain can occur by direct trauma, overexertion or repetitive trauma. Overexertion is claimed by 60% of low back pain patients as the cause of injury. Of these patients with overexertion injuries, 66% implicated lifting and 20% pushing or pulling. It is, however, difficult to relate the workplace to the complaint of low back pain in a specific worker, and low back pain is found quite often in those with sedentary occupations.

The incidence, severity and potential disability are all related to the demands on the individual in the workplace. Among the factors implicated are the requirements for lifting (particularly when compared to the worker's lifting capacity), pushing and pulling, posture, and cyclic loading. Drivers of heavy vehicles have two to four times the average incidence of serious low back pain. This is probably due to the cyclic loading environment.

The general psychosocial environment (including that at work) is an important risk factor. The first attack of low back pain occurs in the teens or twenties. Low back pain is as frequent in females as males, although women in manual materials handling jobs are at greater risk. Posture, anthropometry and mobility measures have limited prognostic value. Muscle strength and physical fitness probably have some value. Radiographic findings have little pragmatic value.     

Risk Factors for Low Back Pain and Sciatica

So far, eight prospective studies and 50 cross-sectional or retrospective studies have focused on risk factors for low back syndromes. Half of these have been published during the 1980s. Hard physical work and, in particular, frequent lifting and postural stress are likely to result in disc degeneration, low back pain and sciatica. Physical strain may also have prophylactic effects, as physical leisure activity and muscular strength are negatively associated with the risk of low back pain. Much evidence points to driving motor vehicles being causally associated with low back pain and sciatica. A probably causal relationship exists between body height and risk of sciatica, but height is not necessarily predictive of other types of low back pain. Obesity, smoking, psychological distress and poor general health also carry increased risk of low back pain, but their causal role is questionable. Although none of the suspected risk factors can be described as having been conclusively investigated epidemiologically, the results of published studies show that there are modifiable factors contributing to low back pain. The overall potential of primary prevention is great if adequate tools for intervention can be developed.     

Efficacy of IDET for Relief of Leg Pain Associated with Discogenic Low Back Pain

Abstract: Intradiscal electrothermal annuloplasty (IDET) is an effective treatment for chronic discogenic low back pain (LBP). However, efficacy of IDET for the treatment of referred leg pain has not been examined. This study was performed to assess the long‐term efficacy of IDET for the treatment of referred leg pain in chronic discogenic LBP patients. Data were retrospectively analyzed as an IDET case series from January 1999 to December 2000. The IDET procedure was performed at 1–3 symptomatic levels confirmed by pressure‐controlled discography. General pain outcome was evaluated by Visual Analog Scale (VAS). LBP and leg pain were assessed separately using five‐point pain scales (subsets of the North American Spine Society [NASS] LBP outcome assessment instrument: 0 = no pain, 4 = worst pain) at the 18‐month follow‐up. Among 129 patients who underwent IDET, 30 patients underwent subsequent back surgery and were excluded from the study, giving a total of 99 patients. Eighty‐three patients (83.8%) had leg pain without sciatica. Fifty‐two (52.5%), 21 (21.2%), and 8 (8.0%) patients showed LBP > leg pain, LBP = leg pain and LBP < leg pain, respectively. Fifty‐three out of 83 patients (63.9%) showed post‐IDET improvement in pain, with a mean VAS score of 3.28 ± 2.31. Thirty patients (36.1%) showed no improvement. A statistically significant (P < 0.05) improvement in subjective back and referred leg pain was observed. Improvements in back and referred leg pain were well‐correlated (r = 0.721, P < 0.01). A relatively large number of LBP patients who underwent IDET (84%) presented with referred leg pain without sciatica. The IDET procedure afforded improvements in leg pain that correlated well with improvements in back pain (0.75/4 and 0.88/4, respectively). These data suggest that IDET may relieve associated limb pain in chronic discogenic LBP patients.     

Prednisone for Emergency Department Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background

Although oral corticosteroids are commonly given to emergency department (ED) patients with musculoskeletal low back pain (LBP), there is little evidence of benefit.

Objective

To determine if a short course of oral corticosteroids benefits LBP ED patients.

Methods

Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Setting: Suburban New Jersey ED with 80,000 annual visits. Participants: 18–55-year-olds with moderately severe musculoskeletal LBP from a bending or twisting injury ≤ 2 days prior to presentation. Exclusion criteria were suspected nonmusculoskeletal etiology, direct trauma, motor deficits, and local occupational medicine program visits. Protocol: At ED discharge, patients were randomized to either 50 mg prednisone daily for 5 days or identical-appearing placebo. Patients were contacted after 5 days to assess pain on a 0–3 scale (none, mild, moderate, severe) as well as functional status.

Results

The prednisone and placebo groups had similar demographics and initial and discharge ED pain scales. Of the 79 patients enrolled, 12 (15%) were lost to follow-up, leaving 32 and 35 patients in the prednisone and placebo arms, respectively. At follow-up, the two arms had similar pain on the 0–3 scale (absolute difference 0.2, 95% confidence interval [CI] −0.2, 0.6) and no statistically significant differences in resuming normal activities, returning to work, or days lost from work. More patients in the prednisone than in the placebo group sought additional medical treatment (40% vs. 18%, respectively, difference 22%, 95% CI 0, 43%).

Conclusion

We detected no benefit from oral corticosteroids in our ED patients with musculoskeletal LBP.     

Descriptive Epidemiology and Public Health Aspects of Low Back Pain

The prevalence of low back syndrome and its consequences in terms of disability, handicap, and need for medical care were studied as part of “the Mini-Finland Health Survey”. A sample of 8000 persons representative of the Finnish population aged 30 or over was invited for examination, and 7217 (90%) participated. At interview 75% of the participants reported that they had experienced at least one episode of low back pain. Six or more episodes were reported by half of the population, and about 20% had suffered from pain during the previous month. On the basis of a standardised clinical examination, a physician diagnosed low back syndrome in 17.5% of men and 16.3% of women. The prevalence was highest in those aged 55–64 years. The use of health services was frequent among those suffering from low back pain. Nevertheless, their need for care was commonly unmet. Some disability was found in almost 60% of the subjects with low back pain, although severe functional limitations were rare. It was estimated that of the work disability the reduced capacity for everyday duties apart from work, and the reduced capacity for leisure time activities, in the population 18%, 16%, and 17%, respectively, were attributable to the low back syndrome. Thus low back syndrome has a strong impact on individuals and on society as a whole.     

Migraine as a Sequela to Chronic Low Back Pain

SYNOPSIS
The occurrence of headache as a sequela of low back pain was examined in a sample of chronic pain patients. All patients had low back pain without history of head, neck, or upper back injury or headache onset simultaneous with the low back pain, Consistent with prior research, headache was found to be a common concomitant of back pain. In many patients, headache was found to have begun or exacerbated markedly after onset of low back pain. Prevalence of migraine in female patients was significantly higher than the population prevalence for females in the United States; this was not true for male patients. Potential mechanisms for explaining the high prevalence of migraine following low back pain are discussed, including increased muscle tension, psychosocial factors, and analgesic overuse.     

Experimental Low Back Pain Decreased Trunk Muscle Activity in Currently Asymptomatic Recurrent Low Back Pain Patients During Step Tasks

Low back pain (LBP) patients show reorganized trunk muscle activity but if similar changes are manifest in recurrent LBP (R-LBP) patients during asymptomatic periods remains unknown. In 26 healthy and 27 currently asymptomatic R-LBP participants electromyographic activity (EMG) was recorded from trunk and gluteal muscles during series of stepping up and down on a step bench before and during experimentally intramuscular induced unilateral and bilateral LBP. Pain intensity was assessed using numeric rating scale (NRS) scores. Root mean square EMG (RMS-EMG) normalized to maximal voluntary contraction EMG and pain-evoked differences from baseline (ΔRMS-EMG) were analyzed. Step task duration was calculated from foot sensors. R-LBP compared with controls showed higher baseline RMS-EMG and NRS scores of experimental pain (P?<?.05). In both groups, bilateral compared with unilateral experimental NRS scores were higher (P?<?.001) and patients compared with controls reported higher NRS scores during both pain conditions (P?<?.04). In patients, unilateral pain decreased ΔRMS-EMG in the Iliocostalis muscle and bilateral pain decreased ΔRMS-EMG in all back and gluteal muscles during step tasks (P?<?.05) compared with controls. In controls, bilateral versus unilateral experimental pain induced increased step task duration and trunk RMS-EMG whereas both pain conditions decreased step task duration and trunk RMS-EMG in R-LBP patients compared with controls (P?<?.05).

Flexi-bar训练对非特异性腰痛的治疗效果

目的 探索核心稳定性训练联合Flexi-bar对非特异性腰痛患者核心肌群的肌电活动、厚度的影响及对腰痛的疗效。方法 选择2020年6月至2021年1月北京博爱医院非特异性腰痛患者30例。试验一：测量用与不用Flexi-bar进行核心稳定性训练(仰卧桥式、卷腹、四点支撑)时腹横肌、多裂肌的肌电均方根值差异。试验二：将患者随机分为两组,每组15例,对照组单独进行传统核心稳定性训练;试验组在此基础上增加Flexi-bar训练。每次30 min,每周3次,共6周。治疗前后分别采用视觉模拟评分(VAS)和Oswestry功能障碍指数(ODI)进行评定,超声测量腹横肌厚度和多裂肌横截面积。结果 试验一：除仰卧桥式动作下,腹横肌在用与不用Flexi-bar时的肌电活动无显著性差异(|t| < 2.029, P > 0.05)外,其余动作中两组间腹横肌和多裂肌均存在显著性差异(|t| > 2.468, P < 0.05)。试验二：训练前,两组间各项指标比较均无显著性差异(|t| < 1.944, P > 0.05);训练后,两组VAS和ODI均较训练前显著降低(|t| > 6.808, P < 0.001),腹横肌厚度、多裂肌面积均显著增加(|t| > 5.937, P < 0.001);除腹横肌厚度外(t = -1.431, P > 0.05),试验组各项指标均优于对照组(|t| > 2.411, P < 0.05)。结论 Flexi-bar训练可以改善非特异性腰痛患者疼痛及功能。