Back Pain News
St Jude Medical reports positive results from chronic low back pain study
St. Jude Medical, Inc., a medical device company, has announced two-year results in a post-market clinical study evaluating neurostimulation for the management of chronic low back pain.
The study found that 70 percent of neurostimulation patients reported overall pain relief of 50 percent or better at their final two-year visit. Additionally, 88 percent of these patients reported that their quality of life was improved or greatly improved.
“This study is the largest neurostimulation study conducted to date and is specifically designed to gather more information about the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation for low back pain,” said Dr Eugene Mironer, presenter of the results and managing partner of the Carolina Center for Advanced Management of Pain in Spartanburg, S.C. “Our findings at the two-year mark indicate that the therapy is sustainable long-term. In addition to reporting an improvement in their quality of life, 89 percent of patients were satisfied or very satisfied with their results.”
Neurostimulation therapy uses an implantable medical device to deliver mild electrical pulses to the epidural space to mask or interrupt pain signals as they travel to the brain. St. Jude Medical is sponsoring this research to continue to build on the published data supporting the long-term sustainability of the therapy.
“There is a growing body of evidence that confirms the effectiveness of neurostimulation for the management of chronic pain, especially for those patients who have tried multiple therapies only to continue to suffer with pain,” said Chris Chavez, president of the St. Jude Medical Neuromodulation Division. “Over the course of the past decade, physician training, technology improvement and patient selection criteria have advanced greatly. Our study validates the significant impact of these advances in further improving the effectiveness of neurostimulation therapy.”
Low back pain patients’experiences of work modifications; a qualitative study
Research indicates that work modifications can reduce sickness absence and work disability due to low back pain. However, there are few studies that have described modified work from the perspective of patients.
A greater understanding of their experiences may inform future workplace management of employees with this condition.
Methods: Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-five employed patients who had been referred for back pain rehabilitation. All had expressed concern about their ability to work due to low back pain.
Data was analysed thematically.
Results: Many participants had made their own work modifications, which were guided by the extent of control they had over their hours and duties, colleague support, and their own beliefs and attitudes about working with back pain. A minority of the participants had received advice or support with work modifications through occupational health.
Access to these services was limited and usually followed lengthy sickness absence. Implementation largely rested with the manager and over-cautious approaches were common.
Conclusions: There was little evidence of compliance with occupational guidance on modified work.
There appears to be insufficient expertise among managers and occupational health in modifying work for employees with low back pain and little indication of joint planning. On the whole, workers make their own modifications, or arrange them informally with their manager and colleagues, but remain concerned about working with back pain.
More effective and appropriate application of modifications may increase employees’confidence in their ability to work.
Lower back pain is a very common problem
Lower back pain is a very common problem and the chances of having it reoccur are likely, but why is this? Low back pain can be caused from many different tissues and pathologies, but the lumbar multifidus muscles (LMM) are one cause that is often overlooked and neglected.
The lumbar multifidus muscles (LMM) stabilize the spine when in a neutral position. When the spine is injured, a reflex occurs that can inhibit the activation of the lumbar multifidus muscles (LMM). When this inhibition persists, atrophy and fatty invasion of the muscle will ensue and often persist after the pain is gone. When the lumbar multifidus muscles (LMM) atrophies, it causes instability within the lower back which can lead to prolonged pain. Assessment of the lumbar multifidus muscles (LMM) as a source of pain with reoccurring low back pain is often overlooked. If the LMMs are the cause of pain, rehabilitation is essential if longterm resolution is to be achieved.