Copyright 2009 Medical News Today Latest Back Pain News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/back-pain/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/172103.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/172103.php Patients who have undergone a single-level lumbar microdiskectomy for lumbar disk herniation experienced significant improvement in physical function following an intensive, progressive physical therapist guided exercise and education program, according to a research report published in the November issue of Physical Therapy (PTJ), the scientific journal of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Back Pain Tue, 24 Nov 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171912.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171912.php Carole Riggs, a retired teacher and school principal, points to her work during one Christmas vacation bending, twisting and sitting on the floor to create games and teaching aids as the primary culprit behind many years of back pain. Burak M. Ozgur, M.D. Neurology / Neuroscience Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171541.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171541.php St. Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) announced that a 62-year-old man from Shenzhen, Guangdong province has become the first patient in China to be implanted with the Eon™ neurostimulator, a rechargeable device used to help manage chronic pain. Despite prior back surgeries, the patient suffered from chronic back pain for more than a decade. Pain / Anesthetics Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170344.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/170344.php Military personnel evacuated out of Iraq and Afghanistan because of back pain are unlikely to return to the line of duty regardless of the treatment they receive, according to research led by a Johns Hopkins pain management specialist. In a study published in the Nov. 9 Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers found that just 13 percent of service members who left their units with back pain as their primary diagnosis eventually returned to duty in the field. Back Pain Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169967.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169967.php Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center found that yoga may be more effective than standard treatment for reducing chronic low back pain in minority populations. This study appears in the November issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. Low back pain is common in the United States, resulting in substantial disability and cost to society. Back Pain Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169516.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/169516.php The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement has launched a new publication to support the NHS in improving community-based access to specialist services for patients suffering from musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions such as chronic back pain, osteoporosis and other bone, joint, spinal and muscular diseases. Bones / Orthopaedics Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168774.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168774.php The discovery of a multi-level arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the thoracic epidural space can now bring relief to potentially thousands of suffers of chronic thoracic pain and progressive myelopothy. Identified as thoracic epidural arteriovenous malformation (T.E.A.M.), this particular AMV primarily affects younger women ages 20 to 40. Back Pain Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168587.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/168587.php It's no wonder that many people feel extra soreness and aches in their backs during winter months -- they're often not getting enough vitamin D. The body makes vitamin D from the sun's ultraviolet rays, so it's known as the sunshine vitamin. However, even in the sunniest parts of America, this essential vitamin for keeping bones healthy is in short supply during late fall and winter. Up to 8 out of 10 persons will have back pain in their lifetimes. Pain / Anesthetics Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167966.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167966.php On World Osteoporosis Day, October 20, centenarian Helen Daniels of Poughkeepsie, NY, has a good reason to smile; she's able to comfortably walk again following minimally invasive spine surgery. After suffering two spinal fractures caused by osteoporosis, Mrs. Daniels had debilitating back pain. After being treated with a minimally invasive spinal procedure, called balloon kyphoplasty, she no longer suffers from back pain and is able to walk with the aid of a walker or cane. Back Pain Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167445.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/167445.php Patients reporting new low-back pain are more likely to undergo surgery if treated in an area with a higher-than-average concentration of magnetic resonance imaging machines, according to research from the Stanford University School of Medicine. This may be bad news for patients, since previous studies have found that increased surgery rates don't improve patient outcomes. Back Pain Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166568.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166568.php Over a third (35%) of patients will recover from chronic low back pain within nine months and four out of 10 (41%) will do so within a year, according to research published on BMJ.com. This is the first study of its kind and the results go against the common view that recovery from an episode of chronic low back pain is unlikely. Back Pain Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166618.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166618.php Research published on bmj.com today reports that over a third (35 percent) of patients will recover from chronic low back pain within nine months and four out of 10 (41 percent) will do so within a year. This groundbreaking study reveals findings that are contrary to the broad theory that recovery from an episode of chronic low back pain is doubtful. Dr Luciola Menezes Costa, from the University of Sydney is the lead author. Back Pain Tue, 06 Oct 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166229.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/166229.php Patients suffering from back pain, sciatica, or a herniated disc, sometimes find relief with epidural steroid injections (ESI). Recent research has found that needle electromyography (EMG) can reliably predict, among other factors, the patient's potential pain relief from these injections. Back Pain Wed, 30 Sep 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165724.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165724.php A study by researchers at The George Institute for International Health in Australia found that it is rare for patients presenting to PCPs with acute lower back pain to have previously undiagnosed serious diseases. The most common serious disease cause documented was vertebral fracture, with half of the cases identified at the time of initial consultation. Back Pain Wed, 30 Sep 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165606.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165606.php A study by researchers at The George Institute for International Health in Australia found that it is rare for patients presenting to PCPs with acute lower back pain to have previously undiagnosed serious diseases. The most common serious disease cause documented was vertebral fracture, with half of the cases identified at the time of initial consultation. Back Pain Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165255.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/165255.php Whether from heaving, twisting, bending or bad lifting postures, it's well known that caring for the sick or elderly can lead to back pain. This often results in time off work or dropping out of caring professions altogether. Now Danish research published in the online open access journal BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders suggests that the fear of getting back pain from care work is predictive of actually developing it. Back Pain Sat, 19 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164455.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/164455.php Research led by a scientist at the Barrow Neurological Institute at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center has shown injecting biomaterial gel into a spinal cord injury site provides significantly improved healing. The project that also included researchers from Purdue University and Arizona State University indicates that a "practical path" to treatment may be found for spinal injury patients. Neurology / Neuroscience Sun, 13 Sep 2009 00:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163733.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163733.php New data show patients with chronic low back pain on duloxetine hydrochloride (Cymbalta®) maintained reductions in pain for 41 weeks.[i] In patients who initially responded to duloxetine, this maintenance of pain reduction was accompanied by further reduction in pain that was statistically significant as measured by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain rating. Back Pain Sat, 12 Sep 2009 01:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163758.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163758.php New data show patients with chronic low back pain on Cymbalta(R) (duloxetine HCl) maintained reductions in pain for 41 weeks.(1) In patients who initially responded to duloxetine, this maintenance of pain reduction was accompanied by further reduction in pain that was statistically significant as measured by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) average pain rating. Back Pain Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163505.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163505.php Australia's regenerative medicine company, Mesoblast Limited (ASX:MSB)(PINK:MBLTY), today announced highly successful preclinical trial results of its adult stem cells in the treatment of degenerative intervertebral disc disease, the leading cause of low back pain. Stem Cell Research Wed, 09 Sep 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163309.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163309.php Geckos and other lizards have long been known for their incredible ability to shed their tails as a decoy for predators, but little is known about the movements and what controls the tail once it separates from the lizard's body. Anthony Russell of the University of Calgary and Tim Higham of Clemson University in South Carolina are closer to solving this mystery as outlined in a paper they co-authored published in the journal Biology Letters. Neurology / Neuroscience Mon, 07 Sep 2009 02:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163144.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/163144.php US researchers studying people with chronic lower back problems found that those who did Iyengar Yoga were better at overcoming pain and depression than those who followed conventional treatments for lower back pain. Back Pain Wed, 02 Sep 2009 04:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162628.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162628.php People with chronic low-back problems who do yoga also do better at overcoming pain and depression than people treated conventionally for back pain, a West Virginia University study funded by the National Institutes of Health shows. The three-year, $400,000 study, published in the September issue of the journal Spine, showed lifted mood, less pain and improved function in the group that did yoga postures compared with a control group who received standard medical therapy. Back Pain Thu, 27 Aug 2009 05:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162103.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/162103.php Osteoarthritis (OA) and degenerative disc disease (DDD) are common, chronic musculoskeletal disorders. Both diseases cause joint pain, loss of function, and decreased quality of life for the more than 27 million OA and 59 million DDD suffers in the US. According to a 2003 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, arthritis such as OA costs the U.S. economy nearly $128 billion per year in medical care and indirect expenses including lost wages and productivity. Arthritis / Rheumatology Tue, 25 Aug 2009 03:00:00 PST http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/161739.php http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/161739.php Studies have recently found that vertebroplasty - a type of back surgery in which cement is injected into the spine - isn't effective, but many patients and their doctors insist it works. The surgery "is under scrutiny after two recent studies in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded the popular treatment to ease pain from back fractures, typically caused by osteoporosis, is no more effective than a sham surgery," Back Pain