A new study suggests treating acute lower back pain with NSAIDs and steroids will increase the risk of chronic pain later on.

Many patients who bend over the wrong way or do something that causes acute neck or back pain will reach for a bottle of something to relieve it. Pain relievers are a common approach in the USA to get relief fast. Most medical providers reinforce these behaviors when they see a patient in pain. These types of activities had created the opioid crisis which has moved on to other pain-relieving drugs that may relieve the symptoms, in the absence of understanding of the problems that result from mismanagement of a lower back problem.

Chiropractors have for years approached lower back pain as a mechanical condition that can have multiple causes depending on the individual, their body mechanics, and the mechanism of injury. Medication to reduce pain and inflammation is a mechanical condition requiring a mechanical solution. Perhaps, this is why chiropractors are reviewed so favorably by patients after they quickly and often painlessly reduced or resolved their pain without the use of medication or other medical interventions. The most effective chiropractors will take a holistic primary care approach to understand why you hurt and find the cause of the pain, rather than just attempting to treat the painful area.

There is a growing database of information showing that inflammation and pain if relieved by many common anti-inflammatory medications cause chronic problems. There is growing evidence that shows that who you see first is likely to determine your cost, experience, and relief of pain.

In a perfect world, patients would visit chiropractors for many painful conditions first, and those who haven’t would be referred by their medical providers. Chiropractors routinely refer cases that require medical care into the medical system in the best interest of their patients. In the real world, many of these patients call the chiropractor after their medical provider failed to refer them or wanted them to see higher-level medical professionals and ignored the latest medical evidence for lower back care.

In a perfect world, the copay to visit a chiropractor would be low or negligible in the interest of patients visiting the most appropriate provider first.

What causes chronic lower back pain and what is the difference between an acute episode and a chronic problem?

An acute lower back episode can be caused by many things such as lifting improperly in the gym or at home. A chronic problem develops slowly and may have resulted from an initial injury that was never properly treated. Since lower back problems are mechanical, when the muscle spasm and pain is relieved, the body will adapt to that. An often misunderstood clue is that stiffness may be assumed to be normal. Pain avoidance activities may ensue such as incessant working out since this feels good and relieved the pain but does nothing to solve the problem. Bending over and finding that your lower back will lock up at times means you have a chronic lower back problem. Active scars from a c-section or from a hernia repair can also cause a chronic lower back problem.

Spraining your lower back may be either an initial injury or can represent a chronic problem if the back is easily injured. Not sure; chiropractors are likely to be your best first option to make this determination. If the problem has persisted for years, it is likely to result in degeneration of the hips and lower back joints which can be seen on MRI or x-rays. Often, these findings are a history of chronic malfunction rather than the reason you hurt. The old medical adage of your problems are due to arthritis is often wrong and unhelpful.

Being stiff or inflexible can be a sign of a chronic lower back problem. Ankle pain or weak ankles are also a sign of a chronic lower back problem. A shoulder problem is also a sign of a chronic lower back problem. elbow and wrist pain can be secondary to a lower back problem. Since lower back problems encompass the core muscles, tight fascia in the core will affect how you move and may result in pain in different areas of the body. This is why health care providers must look at everything to determine how you move and function to find the cause of your back pain.

Avoid chronic lower back pain by following the best available medical evidence.

Recently, according to Medical News Today, there is even more evidence that you should follow the annals of internal medicine recommendation from February 2017 and avoid drugs and see a chiropractor first, as they practice using many of the methods referenced in their guidelines.

Check out the latest study that offers more evidence that medication does not solve lower back problems, but increases the likelihood you will develop an avoidable chronic lower back problem.

NSAIDs and steroids for acute pain may increase chronic pain risk

Chronic lower back pain (LBP) is a painful condition that is frequently reportedTrusted Source among adult populations living in industrialized nations. Current treatments often target the immune system and include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), acetaminophen, and corticosteroids.

Increasing evidence suggests that chronic pain is a neuroinflammatory disorder. Activation of immune cells such as neutrophils, monocytes, and T cells are thought to contribute to the transition from acute to chronic pain.

Knowing more about the mechanisms that underlie the transition from acute to chronic LBP could improve treatments for pain.

Recently, researchers investigated how acute pain transitions to chronic pain in mice and humans.

“Our study showed the importance of neutrophil activations for the resolution of acute pain and prevention of chronic pain,” Dr. Massimo Allegri, a registered doctor and pain specialist at Hospital Morges, Switzerland, and one of the study’s authors, told Medical News Today.

Do you need help immediately? Do you wish to avoid developing a chronic lower back problem? Growing medical evidence suggests seeing a chiropractor first. Book online here.