Do MRI findings identify patients with low back pain or sciatica who respond better to particular interventions? A systematic review.

Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can reveal a range of degenerative findings and anatomical abnormalities; however, the clinical importance of these remains uncertain and controversial. We aimed to investigate if the presence of MRI findings identifies patients with low back pain (LBP) or sciatica who respond better to particular interventions.

Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL databases were searched.

Are self-reported pain characteristics, classified using the PainDETECT questionnaire, predictive of outcome in people with low back pain and associated leg pain?

Objective: This study was designed to investigate whether the PainDETECT Questionnaire (PDQ) classification was predictive of outcomes at 3 and 12 months follow-up in low back pain (LBP) patients with associated leg pain. Identification of clinically important subgroups and targeted treatment is believed to be important in LBP care. The PD-Q is designed to classify whether a person has neuropathic pain, based on their self-reported pain characteristics.

The diagnostic accuracy of brief screening questions for psychosocial risk factors of poor outcome from an episode of pain: A systematic review.

Objective: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of brief screening questions for psychosocial risk factors predictive of poor outcome from an episode of pain.

Methods: Six electronic databases were searched, content experts contacted, and reference and citation tracking performed. Studies were included that examined the diagnostic accuracy of 1-item screening or 2-item screening questions for depression, anxiety, fear-avoidance beliefs, social isolation, catastrophization, or somatization and were published in English.

Searching for a conceptual framework for nonspecific low back pain.

Diverse views exist regarding the underlying nature of nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP). This study aimed to (i) develop a conceptual framework of NSLBP based on the expressed beliefs of those who treat and/or research NSLBP and (ii) determine whether these beliefs are discretely clustered and whether they are associated with participant characteristics. Surveys were completed by participants (n=162) of the 2006 Amsterdam International Low Back Pain Forum and a low back pain meeting (n=488) in Melbourne.

Primary care clinicians use variable methods to assess acute nonspecific low back pain and usually focus on impairments.

This study investigated the assessment of acute (<12 weeks duration) nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) by primary care clinicians. The aims were to determine the methods used, whether methods differ across professional disciplines, and the extent to which clinicians assess across domains of health. Survey data were gathered from 651 primary care clinicians from six professional disciplines (Physiotherapy, Manipulative Physiotherapy, Chiropractic, Osteopathy, General Medicine, and Musculoskeletal Medicine).

IMPLEmenting a clinical practice guideline for acute low back pain evidence-based manageMENT in general practice (IMPLEMENT): cluster randomised controlled trial study protocol.

Background: Evidence generated from reliable research is not frequently implemented into clinical practice. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines are a potential vehicle to achieve this. A recent systematic review of implementation strategies of guideline dissemination concluded that there was a lack of evidence regarding effective strategies to promote the uptake of guidelines.

Can we predict poor recovery from recent-onset nonspecific low back pain? A systematic review.

This systematic review of prospective cohort studies investigated the evidence for prognostic factors for poor recovery in recent-onset nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP). Medline, Cinahl, Embase, PsychINFO, and AMED databases were searched and citation tracking was performed. Fifty studies met the inclusion criteria.

The epidemiology of low back pain in primary care.

This descriptive review provides a summary of the prevalence, activity limitation (disability), care-seeking, natural history and clinical course, treatment outcome, and costs of low back pain (LBP) in primary care. LBP is a common problem affecting both genders and most ages, for which about one in four adults seeks care in a six-month period. It results in considerable direct and indirect costs, and these costs are financial, workforce and social.