Dr Caitlin Jones aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of opioids for low back pain, and uncovered some interesting findings in her research. Dr Caitlin Jones unpacks her findings in this latest episode of Research Bytes. Listen to find out more, you can read [...]
A recent Four Corners story ‘Pain Factory’ featured Prof Ian Harris and covered a Cochrane review by Adrian Traeger, Chris Maher and team. The program dealt with a range of factors central to Wiser Healthcare. More than three million Australians are living with chronic pain, [...]
In an episode of ABC’s Four Corners this week, the use of spinal cord stimulators for chronic back pain was brought into question. Spinal cord stimulators are devices implanted surgically which deliver electric impulses directly to the spinal cord. They’ve been used to treat people with chronic [...]
The primary aim of the Back@Home study is to assess the effectiveness of a virtual hospital model of care to reduce the length of admission in people presenting to ED with musculoskeletal LBP. A secondary aim is to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the [...]
The Internet is a widely used source of health information, yet the accuracy of online information can be low. This is the case for low back pain (LBP), where much of the information about LBP treatment is poor. This research conducted a content analysis to [...]
Internationally, non-traumatic low back pain (LBP) is an increasingly common presentation to ambulance services. Consequently, paramedics are often the first providers of care for people with LBP. Australian guidelines for paramedic management of LBP recommend the use of simple analgesia, hot/cold therapy and for people [...]
Lumbar spine diagnostic imaging reports may cause patient and clinician concern when clinically unimportant findings are not explicitly described as benign. Our primary aim was to determine the frequency that common, benign findings are reported in lumbar spine plain X-ray, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic [...]
The objective of this study is to compare and contrast the quality statements and quality indicators across clinical care standards for low back pain. Searches were performed in Medline, guideline databases, and Google searches to identify clinical care standards for the management of low back [...]
Opioids and imaging are considered low-value care for most people with low back pain. Yet around one in three people presenting to the emergency department (ED) will receive imaging, and two in three will receive an opioid. NUDG-ED aims to determine the effectiveness of two [...]
Musculoskeletal conditions are the most common health condition seen in emergency departments. Hence, the most effective approaches to managing these conditions is of interest. This systematic review aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of allied health and nursing models of care for the management of musculoskeletal [...]