An opioid prescribing practice standard for chronic noncancer pain (CNCP) was associated with accelerated declines in opioid doses and high-dose prescribing in British Columbia (BC) but also with more aggressive and inappropriate dose tapering, a new analysis showed. In addition, the standard resulted in restricted access to opioids for patients who may have benefited from … Read more
A year-long clinical trial showed that both mindfulness-based therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy significantly reduce pain and opioid use in adults with chronic low back pain, with comparable long-term outcomes. Study: Mindfulness vs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain Treated With Opioids: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Image Credit: Sasin Paraska / Shutterstock.com Both mindfulness-based therapy (MBT) and … Read more
If you’ve ever experienced lower back pain — and it’s hardly a rare occurrence, especially as people age — you’re well aware of its debilitating effects, both in terms of the pain itself and for its effects other movement you might try to make over the course of the day. There’s another concern for researchers … Read more
TOPLINE: Most nonsurgical and noninterventional treatments for low back pain failed to outperform placebo in a new systematic review and meta-analysis, with just 10% showing only modest pain relief. METHODOLOGY: Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis using randomized placebo-controlled trials of nonsurgical and noninterventional treatments for adults with nonspecific low back pain. They searched … Read more
Key Takeaways Herpes zoster (HZ) can initially present with pain before the appearance of a rash, leading to diagnostic confusion. Anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) may be mimicked by other conditions, including HZ. Positive pinch test and Carnett’s sign may indicate abdominal wall neuralgia but do not exclude the possibility of HZ. The Patient … Read more
Low-value care-medical tests and procedures that provide little to no benefit to patients-contributes to excess medical spending and both direct and cascading harms to patients. A research team from Mass General Brigham and their collaborators have found that telemedicine may help to reduce the use of low-value tests. The work is published in JAMA Internal … Read more
The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has developed a new systematic review to summarize for neurologists and other clinicians the evidence for epidural steroid injections and whether they reduce pain and disability for people with certain kinds of chronic back pain. The systematic review is published on February 12, 2025, online in Neurology®. It updates … Read more
Endoscopic spine surgery is revolutionizing the treatment of herniated discs, offering patients a minimally invasive alternative to traditional open surgery. This groundbreaking technique, pioneered by surgeons like Dr. Xiaofei (Sophie) Zhou at University Hospitals Cleveland, utilizes specialized instruments and a tiny camera inserted through a small incision, typically less than a centimeter. This minimally invasive … Read more
Baricitinib can effectively treat polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR) without the use of oral glucocorticoids, according to results from a small, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Among the 18 patients randomly assigned to the oral Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor baricitinib, 14 achieved a C-reactive protein PMR activity score (CRP PMR-AS) of 10 or less after 12 weeks of … Read more
At the center of the Brian Thompson murder is suspect Luigi Mangione, whose “evolution from valedictorian to vigilante may never be fully understood.” But Melanie Thernstrom thinks Mangione’s “bleak inner reality” can be partly explained by his chronic back problems, which caused “unbearable pain” that may have influenced him. Writing for the Wall Street … Read more