Review on Chronic Low Back Pain Management Approach in Primary Care

Abstract

Low back pain is a very common health issue treated in primary care and carries varying definitions. The European Guidelines for Prevention of Low Back Pain characterizes it as "pain and discomfort, localized below the costal margin and above the inferior gluteal folds, with or without leg pain (sciatica)", whereas S. Kinkade defines it as "pain that occurs posteriorly in the region between the lower rib margin and the proximal thighs". Non-specific low back pain, meaning back pain that is "not attributed to any recognizable, known specific pathology", involves symptoms such as disability and pain. The considerable variation that exists in diagnostics and management of this issue around the world shows a net difference between different countries, whether it be by healthcare professionals, specialists, or general practitioners. The Medline, Pubmed, Embase, NCBI, and Cochrane databases were searched for studies of patients with CKD. Incidence, etiology, and management options were analyzed. Low back pain tends to increase in patients age 30 and above, and those numbers tend to rise steadily until age 65. No treatment has been developed that would eradicate it, thus rendering it one of the main reasons for patient visits to their physician. Opioids tend to be prescribed for pain management, alongside NSAIDs, both of which tend to have overwhelming negative side effects in the long term.