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News Related to Back Pain

Many Medical Tests, Procedures Not Always Needed

April 5, 2012 -- Major medical and consumer groups are coming together to question the carte blanche use of many commonly ordered tests and procedures, including MRI for low back pain and exercise EKG tests in people with no symptoms and low risk for heart disease. Sometimes these tests can be lifes
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Experimental Treatment May Help Relieve Back Pain

Dec. 1, 2011 (Chicago) -- An experimental treatment that involves spinal injections of ozone gas and steroids relieved pain in over two-thirds of 327 people with back problems related to a herniated disc. This condition occurs when the cushions, or discs, that serve as shock absorbers for the spine
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Yoga, Stretching May Ease Lower Back Pain

Oct. 25, 2011 -- Practicing yoga or intensive stretching may improve chronic lower back pain and reduce the need for pain medications. A new study shows 12 weeks of weekly yoga classes improved back function and reduced symptoms in people with chronic lower back pain. The pain reduction continued si
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Study: Massage Helps Treat Low Back Pain

July 5, 2011 -- Massage may be serious medicine, at least when it comes to treating persistent low back pain, a new study shows. Low back pain is one of the top reasons people seek medical attention in the U.S., and it is notoriously tough to treat. Studies show very few medical therapies, from medi
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Relieving Back Pain May Help the Brain

May 18, 2011 -- Chronic lower back pain doesn't just hurt. It also appears to cause thinning of certain regions of the brain, which may lead to cognitive impairments, a study shows. Researchers studying the link between pain and such thinning had hoped that successfully treating back pain would halt
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Back Pain May Be Inherited

Feb. 4, 2011 -- If you suffer from persistent low back pain, your genes may bear some of the blame. Just like eye color and baldness, the likelihood of developing low back pain from disc disease may be inherited, a new study shows. When researchers analyzed health and family history data for 2 milli
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Skip the MRI for Low Back Pain?

Jan. 31, 2011 -- Immediate imaging with X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs for patients with acute low back pain is not recommended for all patients, according to new guidelines by the American College of Physicians. The guidelines, which appear in the Feb. 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, suggest
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Attitude, Knowledge Can Relieve Back Pain

July 8, 2010 -- Most adults experience back pain at some point in their lives, but for about one in 10 sufferers the condition is persistent and disabling. It has long been recognized that patients' attitudes and beliefs about their back pain can play a big part in how well their pain is managed. No
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Glucosamine No Help for Low Back Pain

July 6, 2010 -- The popular supplement glucosamine doesn't help people who have low back pain, a clinical trial finds. The study looked specifically at 250 people with evidence of osteoarthritis (OA) of the spine. All of the patients had at least some disability because of low back pain, but most we
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New Immune System Clue to Low Back Pain

June 29, 2010 -- An immune system substance may contribute to causing the low back pain associated with herniated and degenerated discs, according to a new study. "We have identified an immune substance that could start the inflammatory process for disc herniation and disc degeneration," says resear
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