Be Healthy Information

What does “evidence-based” mean and why is it important?  

There’s a lot of advice out there about the best ways to deal with back pain. So how do you know which advice you can trust? The most reliable information is based wholly on up-to-date, evidence-based research.  

To say research is “evidence-based” is to say it has been tested and verified. Experts set up tests designed to show what is true and what isn’t about an assumption. Then they study and carefully analyze the results. In many cases, other experts in the field also review the research to make sure it is valid. You can trust and use this kind of research for help in making sound choices.  

What follows is the latest evidence supporting conservative options for treating chronic low back pain. 

Self-care

Chronic, or long-term, pain can be frustrating. If you’re dealing with chronic back pain, you may be at a loss about where to turn next. You may wonder whether surgery, spinal injections, or prescription painkillers might offer a quick fix. Unfortunately, evidence shows that these options don’t have a high success rate in treating chronic low back pain. Sometimes, in fact, they can lead to additional problems.  

So, what kind of care is supported for treating chronic low back pain? Evidence supports conservative options, like self-care, as a good starting point. Self-care is about the activities you can do to help maintain your own health and wellness. It is about learning what you can do to take care of yourself, beyond taking meds and seeing a doctor. It’s also about finding out what works best for you so you can control your pain and keep a positive outlook.  

Here are some key self-care treatments that evidence supports: 

Exercise therapy 

Evidence also strongly supports safe movement and exercise for chronic low back pain. The focus of the following exercise-based treatments is to keep your back working as it should and to help keep the pain from getting worse. Here are some key recommendations: 

Psychological therapies  

 

It can often be tricky to figure out what’s causing chronic pain. An injury may have been the starting point for the pain. But in time your thoughts can also play a role in how you feel physically. That’s because they can influence how your brain interprets the pain in your body.  

There are treatments that help address this part of chronic pain. They are often used along with other forms of care, like therapeutic exercise and ongoing self-care. The research shows that the following treatments may be helpful in treating chronic pain: 

Provider-directed therapy

Research also supports certain treatments that are provider-based. These should be regarded as secondary care. They should also be used along with, not in place of, self-care and general movement. The aim of these treatments is to keep your back working as it should and to keep the pain from getting worse. Research supports the following provider therapies for chronic low back pain: 

Because chronic pain can be tough to diagnose, it can also be frustrating to manage. Research points to self-care and mind-body approaches like CBT as helpful ways to treat chronic pain. The most effective form of self-care is staying active. Try to make sure you’re moving often and limiting bed rest. But staying active also means getting on with your normal daily activities like going to work and staying social. If you decide to add exercise or work with a provider, be sure to do so along with your self-care treatments. If you weren’t active before your back pain set in, it’s best not to add new types of activities. Stick to what you know and pace yourself. And remember that your outlook affects how you feel. So, try to keep your thoughts positive as you work toward recovery.