Back Pain News and Research

Latest Back Pain News and Research

Study reports rising prevalence of chronic opioid use by SSDI recipients

More than 40 percent of Social Security Disability Insurance recipients take opioid pain relievers, while the prevalence of chronic opioid use is over 20 percent and rising, reports a study in the September issue of Medical Care.

16 Aug 2014

PSAL students to receive free comprehensive health screening at HSS

It's a parent's worst nightmare, and it happens out of the blue. While playing a sport, often football, a teen athlete collapses on the field and doesn't make it.

7 Aug 2014

Disabling back pain increases mortality risk for older women

Disabling back pain puts women in their 70s at an increased risk of death, findings from the Cambridge City over-75s Cohort study suggest.

4 Aug 2014

Research reveals that seizures linked to feelings of anxiety

New research by clinical psychologists from the UK and US has revealed psychogenic seizures which could be mistaken for epilepsy are linked to feelings of anxiety.

3 Aug 2014

GSK announces availability of once-weekly Tanzeum in pharmacies throughout the U.S.

GSK today announced that once-weekly Tanzeum (albiglutide), a prescription injectable treatment for type 2 diabetes in adults, as an adjunct to diet and exercise, is now available in pharmacies throughout the U.S.

29 Jul 2014

Longer looks: the economics of infertility; placebos as treatment raises ethical dilemmas

About a decade ago, Medicaid programs were struggling to keep up with skyrocketing prescription drug costs. Between 1997 and 2002, drug spending in the program for low-income Americans grew by about 20 percent annually. ... Medicaid directors began looking for ways to tamp down on those costs. One of the most popular policies was something called "prior authorization" for a new wave of more expensive, anti-psychotic drugs ,... These policies, in a sense, worked: they helped rein in how much Medicaid spent filling prescriptions. But in another sense, they may not have worked at all: a growing body of research has begun questioning whether restricting drug spending may have just shifted costs elsewhere -; particularly, into the prison system (Sarah Kliff, 7/22).

25 Jul 2014

Paracetamol fails to beat placebo at relieving back pain

Paracetamol is no more effective than placebo at relieving acute lower back pain, according to new clinical trial results.

24 Jul 2014

FDA approves Targiniq ER to treat severe pain

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Targiniq ER (oxycodone hydrochloride and naloxone hydrochloride extended-release tablets), an extended-release/long-acting (ER/LA) opioid analgesic to treat pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.

24 Jul 2014

Surgeon explains who needs screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms

Bulges in body's major blood vessel can cause potentially lethal ruptures, blood clots. An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a potentially life-threatening condition: If the body's major blood vessel ruptures, it can prove deadly.

17 Jul 2014

Once-a-day pill for patients experiencing opioid-induced constipation

Opioids - strong morphine-based painkillers - are widely prescribed to patients experiencing chronic severe pain. While these drugs are very effective for treating and managing pain, they have one particularly bothersome side effect: constipation.

17 Jul 2014

More insurers want you to see a doctor virtually

Insurers like WellPoint and Aetna are offering patients the option of e-visits with doctors as a way to cut costs, but some see problems with that, reports Bloomberg. Other media outlets explore the controversy over Sovaldi, an expensive new drug for hepatitis C.

17 Jul 2014

Lower back pain not triggered by weather changes according to new study

Episodes of lower back pain are not triggered by changes in weather conditions, say Australian researchers.

10 Jul 2014

Acute episodes of low back pain not linked to weather conditions

Australian researchers reveal that sudden, acute episodes of low back pain are not linked to weather conditions such as temperature, humidity, air pressure, wind direction and precipitation.

10 Jul 2014

Complications from partial knee replacement is very small than total knee replacement

Partial knee replacement surgery is safer than total knee replacement, according to a new study published in The Lancet today (July 8).

8 Jul 2014

First report of spinal cord mass arising from spinal cord cell transplantation

A spinal mass was identified in a young woman with complete spinal cord injury 8 years after she had undergone implantation of olfactory mucosal cells in the hopes of regaining sensory and motor function.

8 Jul 2014

Research roundup: 20M gain insurance, coverage's effect on surgery choices; opioid use by service members

This report aims to help readers understand recently announced enrollment numbers, as well as other numbers that have received less attention, and assess their importance for the future of the ACA and our health care system. .

4 Jul 2014

UCB, Dermira enter into licensing agreement for development, commercialization of Cimzia

UCB, a global biopharmaceutical leader, and Dermira, Inc., a privately held US-based dermatology company, announced today that they have entered into an exclusive licensing agreement for the development and future commercialization of Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) in dermatology.

3 Jul 2014

State highlights: Caring for Texans injured on-the-job; heroin deaths in Md.; pertussis in Calif.

In formerly depressed South Texas, gas flares from the fracking boom can be seen from outer space. While Texas has a Division of Workers' Compensation, it is the only state that doesn't require any private employer to carry workers' compensation insurance or a private equivalent, so more than 500,000 people have no occupational benefits when they get injured at work. That means they often rely on charities or taxpayers to pay for their care (Root, 6/29)

1 Jul 2014

Keele University researchers awarded grant to develop new treatment for musculoskeletal problems

Researchers at Keele University in the UK have been awarded a £1.93 million National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Programme Grant for a new five year programme of research to develop a new treatment model for people with musculoskeletal problems in primary care, in which treatment will be tailored to patients' risk of persistent pain and disability.

28 Jun 2014

Researchers explore shiatsu to help people with chronic pain fall asleep

There was a time, back in Nancy Cheyne's youth, when she combined the poise and grace of a ballerina with the daring and grit of a barrel racer. When she wasn't pursuing either of those pastimes, she bred sheepdogs, often spending hours on her feet grooming her furry friends at dog shows.

18 Jun 2014