April 6, 2018 - Mike Dilke

The RELAXBACK UK show that airs on Tuesday April 10th asks the Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners what really is best for back pain. It also looks into some of the possible problems associated with taking opioid pain killers.

Lower back pain is the leading cause of disability globally but too often patients are let down by the treatment they are offered, say experts. A BBC news article gives further information.

They have written a series of papers in The Lancet asking the worldwide medical profession to stop offering ineffective and potentially harmful treatments.

Strong drugs, injections and surgery are generally overkill, they say, with limited evidence that they help.

Most back pain is best managed by keeping active, they advise.

Prof Martin Underwood, from Warwick University, who is one of the 31 authors of The Lancet papers, said: "Our current treatment approaches are failing to reduce the burden of back pain disability.

"We need to change the way we approach back pain treatment in the UK and help low- and middle-income countries to avoid developing high-cost services of limited effectiveness.

"Quite a lot of people get exposed to high-tech medical and invasive procedures. There's very little evidence base to support their use."

The chair of the Royal College of GPs, Professor Helen Stokes Lampard talks on the RELAXBACK UK show to offer the latest advice if you are suffering from back pain.

Opioids are pain killers that are sometimes prescribed for back pain. They can work very well in the short term but they become less effective for the pain so there is a tendency to use more and also a danger of dependency. This is a major problem in the USA and is also a concern in the UK. Learn about opioid drugs, the issues with them. the subject of dependency and what to do if you think you, or a loved one, has become to rely on them from a clinical nurse lead for the charity Change, Grow, Live.

Anna Marie Felice explains things and gives clear practical advice on the subject.

The website for Change, Grow Live is here.

More information on the subject is here.

Thank you for reading. Please do listen to the RELAXBACK UK show and if you have questions or comments you can ask/  make them here.