The following was taken from the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center:
About 80% of the adults in the U.S. have been bothered by back pain at some point. The Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center recently surveyed more than 14,000 subscribers who experienced lower-back pain in the past year but never had back surgery. More than half said the pain severely limited their daily routine for a week or longer, and 88 percent said it recurred throughout the year.
Lower-back pain disrupts many aspects of life. In our survey, 46% said that it interfered with their sleep, 31% reported that it thwarted their efforts to maintain a healthy weight, and 24% said that it hampered their sex life.
Where to go for treatment?
When back pain goes on and on, many people go to see a primary-care doctor. A surprising number of the lower-back-pain sufferers we surveyed said they were disappointed with what the doctor could do to help.
Who helped the most?
The percentage of people highly (completely or very) satisfied with their back-pain treatments and advice varied by practitioner visited.
Patients with lower-back pain are faced with a confusing list of options. Our survey respondents tried an average of five or six different treatments over the course of just a year. We asked them to rate a comprehensive list of remedies (available to subscribers) and had enough data to rate 23 treatments. We analyzed the medical evidence for each and came up with recommendations and cautions. Here are some highlights from our survey findings:
Hands-on treatments were rated by lower-back-pain sufferers as very helpful. Survey respondents favored Chiropractic treatments (58%), massage (48%), and physical therapy (46%) — another testament to the healing power of touch.
Spinal injections (available to subscribers) were rated just below chiropractic treatments by those who took our survey; 51% percent of the respondents found them to be very helpful, although the techniques their doctors used varied.
Prescription medications (available to subscribers), which one-third of our respondents said they took, were rated as beneficial by 45% of them. Almost 70% said they took an over-the-counter medication, but only 22% said the drugs were very helpful.