KEY POINTS:
- Tools of treatment used should always be chosen based on the unique presentation of the patients’ low back pain and what would best suit them
- This CPG does not provide a full evalution of all treatment options available
- i.e. use of electrophysical agents for short-term pain relief (eg. heat therapy)
Low back pain is a common musculoskeletal condition seen in Physiotherapy clinics. It often causes significant pain and disability, severely impacting patients’ daily life. Still, low back pain has thus far been managed in a variety of ways due to the overall lack of high quality evidence for specific treatment methods.
The recent Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) 2021 synthesised the recent evidence around low back pain management and builds on our knowledge and understanding of this complex condition, low back pain. In comparison to the previous 2012 guideline, this guide did well to distinguish treatment methods for acute and chronic low back pain, as well as for specific subgroups of low back pain patients (i.e. patients with leg pain, patients with motor control impairment, etc).
The following summarises the evidence presented in the 2021 CPG for acute and chronic low back pain respectively:
Acute Low Back Pain
Chronic Low Back Pain
References:
George, S. Z., Fritz, J. M., Silfies, S. P., Schneider, M. J., Beneciuk, J. M., Lentz, T. A., Gilliam, J. R., Hendren, S., & Norman, K. S. (2021). Interventions for the management of acute and chronic low back pain: Revision 2021. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 51(11). https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2021.0304
Clinical guidelines to address low back pain: Using the evidence to guide physical therapist practice. (2021). Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 51(11), 533–534. https://doi.org/10.2519/jospt.2021.0507
