Background:
Back pain is a major international health problem, with a lifetime prevalence of 80–85% (1) that poses substantial challenges for clinical management.(2)  In the UK, each year 6–9% of adults consult their GP with back pain,(3) with only 20–40% no longer reporting pain or disability 12 months later.(4)

Research Question:
Does the addition of LumbaCurve back pain relief devices to usual care in the conservative management of simple mechanical back pain improve patient outcome?

Aim of Study:To determine the clinical effectiveness of the Lumbacurve back pain relief device in the management of simple mechanical back pain

Study Objectives:
• To determine the pre and post treatment function when using Lumbacurve
• To determine the pre and post treatment pain when using Lumbacurve
• To determine if there is any significant patient benefit in function and pain when using Lumbacurve compared to a control group of usual care

METHOD

Study design: Randomised controlled pilot study

Planned Trial Interventions
All patients will receive an advice and information booklet (The Back Book(5)). The booklet includes simple self-help messages such as the use of analgesic and home heat or cold therapy for pain relief along with guidance on the benefits of general exercise such as walking.
• Group 1: Usual care consisting of advice and exercises.
• Group 2: Usual care plus LumbaCurve back pain relief products

Primary Outcome measure: Roland & Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). There are 24 questions and the instrument can be used over the telephone. Clinical improvement is shown if RMDQ score is reduced by 30% from baseline.
Secondary Outcome Measures:
• Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) Score 0-100%. The minimum clinical important difference has been determined to be a 10% change
• Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) for intensity of Lumbar pain and stiffness in the past 24 hours Score 0-11. The minimum clinical important difference has been determined to be a 2 point change.
• Global rating of change

Measurement time points: Baseline, 4 weeks, 12 weeks.
Eligibility criteria: Participants with simple mechanical low back pain
Inclusion: Age over 18 and rated as medium or low risk according to the 9 item STarT Back screening tool (6)
Exclusion: Any participants with known or suspected serious spinal pathology (Red Flags) (7,8)

Sample Size and Statistical Analysis
A previous study by the authors which considered the use of a spinal realignment cushion found significant improvements in back stiffness (p=0.003), back pain (p=0.04) and sleep quality (p=0.026) in a sample of 15 participants with simple mechanical back pain in a repeated measures study. This current study aims to determine the changes within individuals and between a treatment, and also aims to determine any differences between an intervention group and a control group, therefore a larger sample size of 30 will be recruited for each arm of the study. These data will be analysed using a repeated measures ANOVA to determine the within group changes and a one way ANOVA to determine between groups changes at the different time points. Mean changes from baseline at the different time points will also be presented graphically.

References
1. WHO. The burden of musculoskeletal conditions at the start of the new millennium. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser 2003; 919: 1–218.
2. Costa-Black KM, Loisel P, Anema JR, Pransky G. Back pain and work. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 2010; 24: 227–40.
3. Dunn KM, Croft PR. Classification of low back pain in primary care: using “bothersomeness” to identify the most severe patients. Spine 2005; 130: 1887–92.
4. Hestbaek L, Leboeuf YC, Manniche C. Low back pain: what is the long-term course? A review of studies of general patient populations. Eur Spine J 2003; 12: 149–65.
5. Roland M et al The Back Book 1997; The Stationary Office, Norwich.
6. Hill JC, Dunn KM, Lewis M, Mullis R, Main CJ, Foster NE, et al. A primary care back pain screening tool: identifying patient subgroups for initial treatment. Arthritis Rheum 2008;59(5):632–41
7. Greenhalgh, S & Selfe, J Red Flags: A guide to identifying serious pathology of the spine. 2006 Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier.
8. Greenhalgh, S & Selfe, J Red Flags II: A Clinical Guide to Solving Serious Spinal Pathology, 2009 Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier.

How LumbaCurve back pain relief products can offer natural back pain cures

Video on how LumbaCurve back pain therapy can provide drug free lower back pain relief

An explanation of how LumbaCurve back pain devices can provide an effective drug free lower back pain therapy which could offer back pain relief by Bernard Nolan B.B.Ac.C (UK), a leading practitioner in the ancient healing therapy of Shiatsu

The LumbaCurve back pain relief device is now available in directly through LumbaCurve International or several internet healthcare suppliers including Amazon

Background:
Back pain is a major international health problem, with a lifetime prevalence of 80–85% (1) that poses substantial challenges for clinical management.(2)  In the UK, each year 6–9% of adults consult their GP with back pain,(3) with only 20–40% no longer reporting pain or disability 12 months later.(4)

Research Question:
Does the addition of LumbaCurve back pain relief devices to usual care in the conservative management of simple mechanical back pain improve patient outcome?

Aim of Study:To determine the clinical effectiveness of the Lumbacurve back pain relief device in the management of simple mechanical back pain

Study Objectives:
• To determine the pre and post treatment function when using Lumbacurve
• To determine the pre and post treatment pain when using Lumbacurve
• To determine if there is any significant patient benefit in function and pain when using Lumbacurve compared to a control group of usual care

METHOD

Study design: Randomised controlled pilot study

Planned Trial Interventions
All patients will receive an advice and information booklet (The Back Book(5)). The booklet includes simple self-help messages such as the use of analgesic and home heat or cold therapy for pain relief along with guidance on the benefits of general exercise such as walking.
• Group 1: Usual care consisting of advice and exercises.
• Group 2: Usual care plus LumbaCurve back pain relief products

Primary Outcome measure: Roland & Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ). There are 24 questions and the instrument can be used over the telephone. Clinical improvement is shown if RMDQ score is reduced by 30% from baseline.
Secondary Outcome Measures:
• Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) Score 0-100%. The minimum clinical important difference has been determined to be a 10% change
• Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) for intensity of Lumbar pain and stiffness in the past 24 hours Score 0-11. The minimum clinical important difference has been determined to be a 2 point change.
• Global rating of change

Measurement time points: Baseline, 4 weeks, 12 weeks.
Eligibility criteria: Participants with simple mechanical low back pain
Inclusion: Age over 18 and rated as medium or low risk according to the 9 item STarT Back screening tool (6)
Exclusion: Any participants with known or suspected serious spinal pathology (Red Flags) (7,8)

Sample Size and Statistical Analysis
A previous study by the authors which considered the use of a spinal realignment cushion found significant improvements in back stiffness (p=0.003), back pain (p=0.04) and sleep quality (p=0.026) in a sample of 15 participants with simple mechanical back pain in a repeated measures study. This current study aims to determine the changes within individuals and between a treatment, and also aims to determine any differences between an intervention group and a control group, therefore a larger sample size of 30 will be recruited for each arm of the study. These data will be analysed using a repeated measures ANOVA to determine the within group changes and a one way ANOVA to determine between groups changes at the different time points. Mean changes from baseline at the different time points will also be presented graphically.

References
1. WHO. The burden of musculoskeletal conditions at the start of the new millennium. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser 2003; 919: 1–218.
2. Costa-Black KM, Loisel P, Anema JR, Pransky G. Back pain and work. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 2010; 24: 227–40.
3. Dunn KM, Croft PR. Classification of low back pain in primary care: using “bothersomeness” to identify the most severe patients. Spine 2005; 130: 1887–92.
4. Hestbaek L, Leboeuf YC, Manniche C. Low back pain: what is the long-term course? A review of studies of general patient populations. Eur Spine J 2003; 12: 149–65.
5. Roland M et al The Back Book 1997; The Stationary Office, Norwich.
6. Hill JC, Dunn KM, Lewis M, Mullis R, Main CJ, Foster NE, et al. A primary care back pain screening tool: identifying patient subgroups for initial treatment. Arthritis Rheum 2008;59(5):632–41
7. Greenhalgh, S & Selfe, J Red Flags: A guide to identifying serious pathology of the spine. 2006 Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier.
8. Greenhalgh, S & Selfe, J Red Flags II: A Clinical Guide to Solving Serious Spinal Pathology, 2009 Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier.

How LumbaCurve back pain relief products can offer natural back pain cures

Video on how LumbaCurve back pain therapy can provide drug free lower back pain relief

An explanation of how LumbaCurve back pain devices can provide an effective drug free lower back pain therapy which could offer back pain relief by Bernard Nolan B.B.Ac.C (UK), a leading practitioner in the ancient healing therapy of Shiatsu

The LumbaCurve back pain relief device is now available in directly through LumbaCurve International or several internet healthcare suppliers including Amazon

The concept behind LumbaCurve was to combine the best of East and West therapies, designed to combat back pain. LumbaCurve initially provides a passive gravity assisted traction (PGAT) – put simply it gently stretches the lower back, causing the vertebral joints to separate. This in turn, relaxes the discs and frees up the spinal nerves, thus giving drug free back pain relief, as practised by Western physiotherapists, Chiropractors, and Osteopaths.

The initial design was based around the concept of passive gravity assisted traction (PGAT), combined with the effect of acupressure stimulation. The purpose was to provide vertebral separation, allowing spinal decompression, whilst avoiding direct pressure on the spine and sacrum, which would cause pain in the very area where relief was being sought. In addition to this Lumbacurve design features provide the combined benefits of shiatsu stimulation, yogic stretch, and acupressure massage, all recognised techniques, employed in Traditional Oriental Medicine.

The original LumbaCurve back pain relief products were constructed from rigid polyurethane foam as reaction injection mouldings, but the new version exhibited by Gordon Ellis, is produced as a rotational moulding in medical grade polyethylene offers a more lightweight and cost effective option, with reduced manufacturing stages.

LumbaCurve is suitable for adults who experience lower back pain as a result of occupational posture related conditions for example pc users, drivers or recreationally aggravated conditions such as in golfers or gardeners. LumbaCurve is very easy to use, simply lie down, slide LumbaCurve under your lumbar region, follow the instructions, and carry out a few exercises. With minimal time and effort the effects could be amazing.

Lumbacurve can be seen at Stand N43, Southern Manufacturing 2012, 15th / 16th Feb, FIVE, Farnborough, GU14 6XL

LumbaCurve Lower Back Pain Relief Products Press Release

How LumbaCurve can offer natural back pain cures

Video on how LumbaCurve back pain therapy can provide drug free lower back pain relief

An explanation of how LumbaCurve back pain devices can provide an effective drug free lower back pain therapy which could offer back pain relief by Bernard Nolan B.B.Ac.C (UK), a leading practitioner in the ancient healing therapy of Shiatsu

The LumbaCurve back pain relief device is now available in directly through LumbaCurve International or several internet healthcare suppliers including Amazon

As always please consult your GP before using any back pain relief products

Amazon UK

Back Pain Products Sheffield

Physio Supplies Spalding

Electronic Healing Brighton

UK manufactured LumbaCurve is a new effective natural back pain relief product which is designed not only to reduce disc compression but to exercise and mobilise the muscles, joints and ligaments of the spine all at the same time, thus giving much needed back pain relief. Painstakingly designed over 6 years in the UK and the Netherlands, this ingenious back pain relief device combines both Western and Eastern therapy techniques.

The LumbaCurve design is intended to simulate a range of both western physiotherapy / chiropractic, and eastern acupressure techniques employed in mechanical lower back pain relief. LumbaCurve gently stretches the lower back, causing the vertebral discs to separate. This in turn relaxes the discs and frees up the spinal nerves, thus giving low back pain relief. LumbaCurve’s design features also provide the benefits of shiatsu stimulation, yogic stretch, and acupressure massage from traditional oriental medicine.

LumbaCurve is one of a range of natural back pain cures which is simplicity itself to use. Just lie on your back, slide it under your lumbar area… and relax. With minimal effort and time, the results can be extraordinary. Manufactured in the UK, LumbaCurve comes with an instructional DVD of exercise routines and a handy bag to store or transport it so that you could still use it at work or whilst travelling. It’s available with a 30 day unconditional money back guarantee

LumbaCurve Lower Back Pain Relief Products Press Release

How LumbaCurve can offer natural back pain cures

Video on how LumbaCurve back pain therapy can provide drug free lower back pain relief

An explanation of how LumbaCurve back pain devices can provide an effective drug free lower back pain therapy which could offer back pain relief by Bernard Nolan B.B.Ac.C (UK), a leading practitioner in the ancient healing therapy of Shiatsu

The LumbaCurve back pain relief device is now available in directly through LumbaCurve International or several internet healthcare suppliers including Amazon

As always please consult your GP before using any back pain relief products

It’s also likely that new chronic back pain medications will generally be derivatives of existing palliatives.
The report goes on to say that new drugs will represent 18 percent of sales in the chronic pain market during this period, but it is unlikely that they will make up for lost revenues arising from the generic erosion of branded offerings.

These products such as controlled-release oxycodone (Purdue Pharma/Mundipharma/Napp Pharmaceuticals’ OxyContin), Eli Lilly/Boehringer Ingelheim’s Cymbalta/Xeristar, Pfizer’s Lyrica and Celebrex, and the transdermal lidocaine patch (Endo Pharmaceuticals’ Lidoderm, Grunenthal’s Versatis) will all lose market exclusivity by 2020

Read the full Business Wire article

LumbaCurve Lower Back Pain Relief article

How LumbaCurve can offer drug free back pain relief

Video on how LumbaCurve back pain therapy can provide drug free lower back pain relief

An explanation of how the LumbaCurve back pain device can provide an effective drug free lower back pain therapy which could offer back pain relief by Bernard Nolan B.B.Ac.C (UK), a leading practitioner in the ancient healing therapy of Shiatsu

The LumbaCurve back pain relief device is now available in directly through LumbaCurve International or several internet healthcare suppliers including Amazon

As always please consult your GP before using any back pain relief products

There are many back pain products on the market which will have varying degrees of effectiveness in treating back pain conditions. One such back pain relief device is British manufactured LumbaCurve which has been developed over several years in both the UK and Holland specifically to provide back pain relief and combat lower back pain and sciatic conditions.

LumbaCurve can be effective in back pain relief by reducing stiffness, increasing mobility, and improving posture.

The videos shows LumbaCurve being demonstrated by leading shiatsu practioner, Bernard Nolan on ITV’s Dr Chris Steel Medical show, and its effectiveness in this instance of helping motor cycling back pain.

The LumbaCurve back pain relief device is now available in directly through LumbaCurve International or several internet healthcare suppliers including Amazon

As always please consult your GP before using any back pain relief products

The research, funded by Arthritis Research UK, indicated that yoga could offer a reduction in chronic lower back pain over and above that offered by conventional back pain treatment although definite conclusions could not yet be drawn from the exercise.

In the study, researchers randomly assigned 313 adults with chronic or recurrent low back pain to a yoga program or standard care regime over a 3 month period. Outcome measures included Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDG) scores, pain and general health measurements after three months and again at six and 12-month follow-ups.

The results showed that the yoga group had better back function at 3, 6, and 12 months than the usual care group. The adjusted mean RMDQ score was 2.17 points (95% CI, 1.03 to 3.31 points) lower in the yoga group at 3 months, 1.48 points (CI, 0.33 to 2.62 points) lower at 6 months, and 1.57 points (CI, 0.42 to 2.71 points) lower at 12 months. The yoga and usual care groups had similar back pain and general health scores at 3, 6, and 12 months, and the yoga group had higher pain self-efficacy scores at 3 and 6 months but not at 12 months.

It was noted that two of the 157 usual care participants and 12 of the 156 yoga participants reported adverse events, mostly increased pain. In addition there were missing data for the primary outcome (yoga group 21) and usual care group18) and differential missing data (more in the yoga group) for secondary outcomes.
The conclusion drawn was that offering a 12-week yoga program to adults with chronic or recurrent low back pain led to greater improvements in back function than did conventional healthcare, but that further research was necessary before concrete conclusions could be drawn .

Source: Pubmed

The Lumbacurve design features provide the combined benefits of shiatsu stimulation, yogic stretch, and acupressure massage, all recognised techniques , employed in Traditional Oriental Medicine.

LumbaCurve Lower Back Pain Relief News article watch

How to use LumbaCurve to get Back Pain Relief

Video on how to use the LumbaCurve back pain therapy device
The film features LumbaCurve techniques that can provide effective drug free lower back pain relief

As always, please consult your GP before using back pain relief products

Conditions that may cause low back pain and require treatment by a physician or other health specialist include:

Bulging disc (also called protruding, herniated, or ruptured disc). The intervertebral discs are under constant pressure. As discs degenerate and weaken, cartilage can bulge or be pushed into the space containing the spinal cord or a nerve root, causing pain. Studies have shown that most herniated discs occur in the lower, lumbar portion of the spinal column.

A much more serious complication of a ruptured disc is cauda equina syndrome, which occurs when disc material is pushed into the spinal canal and compresses the bundle of lumbar and sacral nerve roots. Permanent neurological damage may result if this syndrome is left untreated.

Sciatica is a condition in which a herniated or ruptured disc presses on the sciatic nerve, the large nerve that extends down the spinal column to its exit point in the pelvis and carries nerve fibers to the leg. This compression causes shock-like or burning low back pain combined with pain through the buttocks and down one leg to below the knee, occasionally reaching the foot.

In the most extreme cases, when the nerve is pinched between the disc and an adjacent bone, the symptoms involve not pain but numbness and some loss of motor control over the leg due to interruption of nerve signaling. The condition may also be caused by a tumor, cyst, metastatic disease, or degeneration of the sciatic nerve root.

Spinal degeneration from disc wear and tear can lead to a narrowing of the spinal canal. A person with spinal degeneration may experience stiffness in the back upon awakening or may feel back pain after walking or standing for a long time.

Spinal stenosis related to congenital narrowing of the bony canal predisposes some people to pain related to disc disease.

Osteoparosis is a metabolic bone disease marked by progressive decrease in bone density and strength. Fracture of brittle, porous bones in the spine and hips results when the body fails to produce new bone and/or absorbs too much existing bone. Women are four times more likely than men to develop osteoporosis. Caucasian women of northern European heritage are at the highest risk of developing the condition.

Skeletal irregularities produce strain on the vertebrae and supporting muscles, tendons, ligaments, and tissues supported by spinal column. These irregularities include scoliosis, a curving of the spine to the side; kyphosis, in which the normal curve of the upper back is severely rounded; lordosis, an abnormally accentuated arch in the lower back; back extension, a bending backward of the spine; and back flexion, in which the spine bends forward.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and multiple “tender points,” particularly in the neck, spine, shoulders, and hips. Additional symptoms may include sleep disturbances, morning stiffness, and anxiety.

Spondylitis refers to chronic back pain and stiffness caused by a severe infection to or inflammation of the spinal joints. Other painful inflammations in the lower back include osteomyelitis (infection in the bones of the spine) and sacroiliitis (inflammation in the sacroiliac joints).

Advice on back pain treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient’s medical history.

Source : National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke “Low Back Pain Fact Sheet,” NINDS.

LumbaCurve Lower Back Pain Relief article

How LumbaCurve back pain relief products can offer back pain relief

Video on how LumbaCurve back pain therapy can provide lower back pain relief

An explanation of how the LumbaCurve back pain device can provide an effective lower back pain therapy which could offer back pain relief by Bernard Nolan B.B.Ac.C (UK), a leading practitioner in the ancient healing therapy of Shiatsu

As always, please consult your GP before using any back pain relief products

What causes lower back pain?

As people age, bone strength and muscle elasticity and tone tend to decrease. The discs begin to lose fluid and flexibility, which decreases their ability to cushion the vertebrae.

Back Pain can occur when, for example, someone lifts something too heavy or overstretches, causing a sprain, strain, or spasm in one of the muscles or ligaments in the back. If the spine becomes overly strained or compressed, a disc may rupture or bulge outward. This rupture may put pressure on one of the more than 50 nerves rooted to the spinal cord that control body movements and transmit signals from the body to the brain. When these nerve roots become compressed or irritated, back pain results.

Low back pain may reflect nerve or muscle irritation or bone lesions. Most low back pain follows injury or trauma to the back, but pain may also be caused by degenerative conditions such as arthritis or disc disease, osteoporosis or other bone diseases, viral infections, irritation to joints and discs, or congenital abnormalities in the spine.

Obesity, smoking, weight gain during pregnancy, stress, poor physical condition, posture inappropriate for the activity being performed, and poor sleeping position also may contribute to low back pain. Additionally, scar tissue created when the injured back heals itself does not have the strength or flexibility of normal tissue. Build up of scar tissue from repeated injuries eventually weakens the back and can lead to more serious injury.

Occasionally, low back pain may indicate a more serious medical problem. Pain accompanied by fever or loss of bowel or bladder control, pain when coughing, and progressive weakness in the legs may indicate a pinched nerve or other serious condition. People with diabetes may have severe back pain or pain radiating down the leg related to neuropathy. People with these symptoms should contact a doctor immediately to help prevent permanent damage.

Source : National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke “Low Back Pain Fact Sheet,” NINDS.

LumbaCurve Lower Back Pain Relief Products article

How LumbaCurve can offer back pain relief

Video on how LumbaCurve back pain therapy can provide lower back pain relief

An explanation of how LumbaCurve can provide an effective lower back pain therapy which could offer back pain relief by Bernard Nolan B.B.Ac.C (UK), a leading practitioner in the ancient healing therapy of Shiatsu

As always, please consult your GP before using any back pain relief products

The pain, which cannot be attributed to any specific disease, requires increased research and rehabilitation efforts if treatment options are to be increased and improved. There is some optimism that such efforts may develop.

Because 80 percent of patients on sick leave due to unspecific back pain resume work within a few weeks, there has been a broad misconception that they recover from their pain within this period. For a vast 65 percent majority, however, the sad truth is that back pain becomes chronic, Prof. Dr. Maarten van Kleef (Maastricht, NL) pointed out at the 7th EFIC Congress in Hamburg.

That causes a huge burden of personal suffering and a tremendous socio economic impact on society that is far from being sufficiently addressed. Recent studies and systematic reviews indicate that the prognosis of pain in a population of patients with low back pain is not at all favourable. This unfavourable outcome is not yet common knowledge, not even for most primary care providers and decision makers in health care.

We therefore have to increase efforts to disseminate information and to promote both prevention and more effective therapies. And not least of all, we need to design a new classification of unspecific back pain, breaking it down into appropriate subgroups to allow for the development of pinpointed treatments for each.

Unspecific chronic back pain: Underestimated epidemic
Unlike specific back pain that attributable to an acknowledged diagnosis like infection, osteoporosis, cancer or vertebral fracture back pain classified as unspecific usually results from degenerative processes in one or more of the many sections of the human spine.

During recent decades, back pain has become epidemic in the industrialised countries. From 60 to 90 percent of the population will experience some kind of back pain at least once in their lifetime. Of that, 30 to 50 percent will involve cervical pain, 16 to 20 percent thoracic pain and over 70 percent lower back pain. Unspecific back pain accounts for approximately 95 percent of these figures.

Surgery should not be standard therapy
As befits such a serious theme, many scientific sessions and presentations at the current EFIC Congress discuss the problem of adequately treating back pain, adding to existing evidence for effective treatment options. In the area of pharmacology, only short term use of NSAIDs and weak opioids is recommended. Noradrenergic or noradrenergic-serotonergic antidepressants, muscle relaxants and capsicum plasters can be considered, Prof. van Kleef noted.

Multidisciplinary rehabilitation includes a combination of exercise, functional restoration and cognitive behavioural therapy, the expert said. But we see that the effectiveness of such interventions is small to moderate when applied to the general population of back pain patients.

Caution is called for in regard to minimally invasive interventions such as the infiltration of corticosteroids directly into the spinal channel guided by computer-assisted fluoroscopic imaging. Scientific evidence for these interventions is weak, but they can sometimes be effective for pain in highly selected patient groups.

Surgery for chronic back pain and cervical pain is based on the assumption that pain will stop once the symptomatic painful segments are immobilized by operative fusion. However, randomized studies comparing fusion with non surgical treatment indicate that a rehabilitation program can be as effective as surgery, Prof. van Kleef warned.

Therefore, spinal fusion and total disc replacement surgery should not be regarded as a standard treatment for chronic back pain. They should only be considered if at least 2 years of intensive conservative and minimal interventional pain treatment programs have failed to relieve the patient’s pain and disability.

New classification as a key to improved understanding
There is an astonishing deficiency both of understanding raging unspecific back pain and of adequate options for managing it, Prof. van Kleef stated. We urgently need nomenclature for classifying back pain beyond simply nonspecific. Relevant subgroups are needed that describe the location and cause of the pain, like pain originating from disc disorders, pain originating from the degeneration of the small joints directing the movements of the spine, or pain originating from a degeneration of the sacroiliac joint.

This would subdivide the vast and undifferentiated field of nonspecific pain into clinical phenomena based on the same pain mechanism that would probably require the same combination of treatments. We expect this to lead to more and better back pain research and consequently more pinpointed patient management strategies.

European Week against Pain dedicated to chronic back pain
The design of a new and appropriate classification of back pain, therefore, is one of the cornerstones of the Plan of Action to fight Chronic Back Pain, to be presented by EFIC this year at the European Week Against Pain (EWAP, 10 14 October 2011). Across Europe public awareness will be directed toward the negative natural course of back pain, the various options for treating and preventing back pain and the importance of enhanced research into the different mechanisms generating back pain and disability.

The Plan of Action should enable us to make remarkable progress, in only a few years, in our fight against the most widespread pain disorder of our time, Prof. van Kleef predicted. This is our responsibility to the innumerable individuals affected and to society as a whole.

About EFIC and “Pain in Europe”- The European Federation of IASP® chapters (EFIC®) is a multidisciplinary professional organisation in the field of pain research and medicine, consisting of the 35 so-called chapters of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP®), which are the IASP approved official National Pain Societies in each country.

Established in 1993, EFICs constituent chapters represent Pain Societies from 35 European countries and close to 20,000 physicians, basic researchers, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists and other healthcare professionals across Europe, who are involved in pain management and pain research.

The relevant documents have been prepared by Prof. Van Kleef in collaboration with his colleagues Dr. Paul Willems, Prof. Dr. Rob Smeets, Dr. Jacob Patijn and Drs. Jose Geurts of the Maastricht Spine Center.

Source; EFIC Press Office – see full article

LumbaCurve Lower Back Pain Relief Products News article

How LumbaCurve can offer back pain relief

Video on how LumbaCurve back pain therapy can provide lower back pain relief

An explanation of how LumbaCurve can provide an effective lower back pain therapy which could offer back pain relief
by Bernard Nolan B.B.Ac.C (UK), a leading practitioner in the ancient healing therapy of Shiatsu

As always, please consult your GP before using any back pain relief products