Back Pain News and Research

Latest Back Pain News and Research

Majority of kidney cancers diagnosed at earliest stage

Patients in the United States today are now much more likely to be diagnosed with smaller tumors, in the earliest, most treatable stage of kidney cancer than a decade ago, leading to a slightly higher survival rate, according to the results of a national study led by a UC San Diego Medical Center researcher.

19 May 2008

New guidelines say botulinum toxin effective for many neurological disorders, but not headache

New guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology confirm that the drug botulinum toxin is safe and effective for treating a variety of neurological conditions. Surprisingly, the drug may not be effective for chronic headaches, accrding to Allison Brashear, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, who helped develop the guidelines.

9 May 2008

Botulinum toxin is safe and effective for treating cervical dystonia

New guidelines developed by the American Academy of Neurology confirm that the drug botulinum toxin is safe and effective for treating cervical dystonia, a condition of involuntary head tilt or neck movement, spasticity and other forms of muscle overactivity that interfere with movement in adults and children with an upper motor neuron syndrome, and excessive sweating of the armpits and hands.

5 May 2008

Gastric bypass surgery and effect on lower back pain

The prevalence of both obesity and back pain in developing nations has reached alarming levels. According to recent statistics, more than one-third of U.S. adults - over 72 million people were obese in 2005-2006. Of these, 33.3 percent were men and 35.3 percent were women. Especially alarming is that obesity has not decreased among teenagers - the rates remain essentially unchanged in 2005-2006 from the 2003-2004 estimates, at 17 percent.

29 Apr 2008

FDA approves Actonel (risedronate sodium) for postmenopausal osteoporosis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new once-a-month dose (150 mg) of Actonel (risedronate sodium) tablets for the treatment and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Actonel is approved to reduce the risk of fractures in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis.

24 Apr 2008

Lumbar supports for prevention and treatment of low back pain

Lumbar or lower back supports - those large belts that people wear around their waists when they lift or carry heavy objects - are not very useful for preventing low back pain, according to a new systematic review.

22 Apr 2008

Back pain problems may be more a matter of genetics than physical strain

What do you learn by looking at the spines of hundreds of Finnish twins?

9 Apr 2008

Femara helps protect against return of breast cancer after completing Tamoxifen therapy

Women may reduce the risk of their breast cancer returning by starting treatment with Femara (letrozole tablets) anywhere from one to seven years after finishing tamoxifen therapy, according to a new analysis published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

11 Mar 2008

New less invasive procedure for lumbar spinal stenosis

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a common spinal problem suffered mainly by people over 50 and is often associated with leg, buttock, groin and some times back pain.

4 Mar 2008

New blood test for early stage ovarian cancer

Australian researchers say they have developed an accurate blood test to detect the first stages of ovarian cancer.

3 Mar 2008

FzioMed's Oxiplex gel for spine surgery approved in Canada

FzioMed, Inc. (www.fziomed.com) has announced that Health Canada has approved the company's Oxiplex gel for use in lumbar spine surgery.

1 Mar 2008

Hope for low back pain sufferers

New research to be carried out at The University of Nottingham could have a major impact on the way that people struggling with low back pain are helped to stay in work.

26 Feb 2008

Ignorance puts Australian women at risk of dying from ovarian cancer

Experts say women in Australia are at risk of dying from ovarian cancer because they are ignorant with regard to the symptoms.

25 Feb 2008

Common spinal problem eased with surgery

Researchers in the United States have found that people who underwent surgery for spinal stenosis had less pain two years later than those who decided not to undergo surgery.

21 Feb 2008

The end of the sickie could be in sight

The end of the 'sickie' could be in sight particularly for Brits. There are moves afoot in Britain to change what the health secretary Alan Johnson calls the sick-note culture.

20 Feb 2008

Looking after the health of older workers will keep them in the work force

According to new research by Australian scientists, in order to keep Australia's older workers in the labour force more will have to be done in future to prevent them developing chronic health conditions.

17 Feb 2008

New spine center at UT Southwestern

UT Southwestern Medical Center has launched a multidisciplinary Spine Center that features top physicians from diverse fields who work together to treat one of the most common problems plaguing our aging society: back pain.

14 Feb 2008

Throwing money at back pain treatments does not guarantee relief

A new study by researchers in the United States has revealed that despite the billions of dollars spent in recent years on treating back pain, many people gain little relief.

13 Feb 2008

Expenditures rising for back and neck problems, but health outcomes do not appear to be improving

Although expenses related to back and neck problems have increased substantially in the last decade, outcomes such as functional disability and work limitations do not appear to be improving, according to a study in the February 13 issue of JAMA.

13 Feb 2008

New non-invasive imaging method for diagnosing osteoarthritis

Researchers at New York University and Tel Aviv University have developed a non-invasive imaging method that can be used to diagnose and monitor a number of diseases, including osteoarthritis and inter-vertebral disc degeneration, in their early stages.

12 Feb 2008