This study examined associations between common lumbar degenerative changes observed on MRI and present or future low back pain (LBP). It showed that the MRI degenerative findings examined, individually or in combination, do not have clinically important associations with LBP, with almost all effects less [...]
Overuse of lumbar imaging in the Emergency Department is a well-recognised healthcare challenge. Studies to date have not provided robust evidence that available interventions can reduce overuse. For an intervention aimed at reducing imaging to be effective, insight into how both patients and clinicians view [...]
Patients presenting to Emergency Department (ED) with non-specific low back pain can receive more unnecessary, intensive and costly care than is recommended. The COVID-19 pandemic has provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine how health systems prioritise necessary care that provides clear benefits to patients. The [...]
Imaging for low back pain is widely regarded as a target for efforts to reduce low value care. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of overuse and underuse of lumbar imaging in the Emergency Department. In this study of emergency care there was evidence of [...]
ecent studies suggest many patients with non-specific low back pain presenting to public hospital EDs receive low-value care. The primary aim was to describe management of patients presenting with low back pain to the ED of a private hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and received a [...]
Delayed prescribing is a promising strategy to manage patient requests for unnecessary tests and treatments. The purpose of this study was to explore general practitioner (GP) and patient views of three communication tools (Overdiagnosis Leaflet, Dialogue Sheet and ‘Wait-and-see’ Note) to support delayed prescribing of [...]
The 2018 Lancet Low Back Pain Series, comprising 3 papers written by 31 authors from disparate disciplines and 12 different countries, raised unprecedented awareness of the rising global burden of low back pain partly attributable to poor quality health care. Many people with low back pain get [...]
Most low back pain trials have limited applicability to the emergency department (ED) because they provide treatment and measure outcomes after discharge from the ED. We investigated the efficacy and safety of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions delivered in the ED to patients with non-specific low [...]