Lower back pain? Skip the drugs and try massage
CHRONIC lower back pain can be a challenge to treat, but new research suggests massage therapy may provide some relief.
“Current medical guidelines recommend massage therapy before the use of opioid medication for lower back pain,” said William Elder, the study’s principal investigator.
“Yet even with those guidelines, physicians and nursing practitioners are not recommending massage,” said Elder.
He is with the University of Kentucky’s departments of family and community medicine and clinical services.
Lower back pain is a common problem and for most people is shortlived. But for about 15% of sufferers, the problem becomes chronic and lasts more than three months, the study authors said.
There are not a lot of effective treatment options for chronic back pain and physicians often prescribe pain-killers to ease the pain, but those drugs come with a risk of addiction.
Other options are exercise, steroid injections, behavioural changes, chiropractic treatment, acupuncture and surgery, according to the US National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
In the new study, researchers asked physicians to recommend massage for people with chronic back pain.
More than 100 volunteers were paired with an experienced massage therapist who assessed the problem and provided a treatment plan.
The study participants received 10 treatments. More than half reported a pain reduction within three months and many said the relief continued afterwards.
The research also showed that massage therapy worked better with patients who were 50 or older, although younger people benefited too.
Dr Anders Cohen, the neurosurgery division chief at The Brooklyn Hospital Centre in New York City, recommends massage therapy to his patients as part of what he calls a comprehensive treatment plan.
“Massage is a great way to break up adhesions and is great for soft tissue,” said Cohen. “If the back pain is a soft tissue issue, such as muscles and ligaments, it works well. Plus, there is the bonus of the therapeutic touch.”
Patients in the study received the massage therapy free, but cost could also explain why some physicians recommend opioids instead.
Cohen noted that massage prices vary and may not be covered under some insurance plans. – The New York Times