Back pain patients ‘failed by the NHS’

MILLIONS of back pain sufferers are being given the wrong treatment, a major review has found.

Many patients are needlessly prescribed strong painkillers, wrongly told to rest or even undergo unnecessary surgery in a bid to treat lower back pain.

This is despite mounting evidence showing that simple exercises and stretches are more effective for easing symptoms.

Lower back pain is the leading cause of disability in the UK, responsible for more than one in ten serious health complaints.

It costs the NHS £2.1billion annually and is estimated to cost the UK economy £10billion.

But international studies published in The Lancet medical journal found treatments often go against guidelines.

Many patients are prescribed powerful opioid painkillers or even referred for scans or surgery instead of being encouraged to keep active.

Professor Martin Underwood of the University of Warwick, part of the international team, warned this was costly to both patients and the health service.

He said: ‘We need to change the way we approach back pain treatment in the UK.’

Steve Tolan, head of practice at the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, said doctors were too quick to medicalise treatments. He added: ‘That so many people start out with minor back pain and go on to suffer lifechanging consequences is bad enough. That healthcare professionals contribute to that journey is unconscionable.’