It's estimated that some 80% of adults will suffer low backache or pain during their lives, with most cases not attributable to a specific illness or injury or trauma.
Although most will recover, pain in the lo back can be recurring, and some people will continue to suffer with some degree of back pain.
It may be that future or recurring lower back pain could be reduced or alleviated by early intervention and seeking pain relief when the lower back pain first occurs.
This could be by seeking immediate treatment from a physiotherapist according to a research thesis recently carried out.
Many people suffer with backache or pain, and most get better.
However, those who suffer with long-term pain can find that their work, everyday and leisure activities are limited to varying degrees.
Given that long-term pain often requires extensive treatment, it is important that the pain be treated at an early stage.
The research objective was to find out whether patients' low back pain could be alleviated in the long run if primary care clinics could offer examinations and treatment by a physiotherapist without any delay in the form of a doctor's referral or waiting list.
In short whether time was of the essence.
The research created a same-day appointment model with the option of going straight to a physiotherapist, with or without a referral from a doctor.
The effect of receiving an examination and treatment within 48 hours was subsequently evaluated compared to being on a waiting list for four weeks before receiving the same treatment.
60 patients with low back pain for 3-12 weeks took part in the study.
Results showed that both groups improved after the treatment ended.
Interestingly the group that had been given early access to an examination and individualised treatment maintained their improvement after six months, while the group that had been held on a waiting list were more likely to suffer with recurring back pain.
It was therefore concluded that early examination and treatment by a physiotherapist as soon as a patient asks for care could be important for reducing low back pain in the long term.
The research also included an investigation of 130 women who had suffered with low back pain for more than three months and who among others had undertaken a walk test.
A follow-up after two years revealed that the walk test was a good predictor of both future ability to work and limitations in everyday activities.
At present the general recommendation for patients with long-term widespread pain or fibromyalgia be given education and a physical exercise programme to help alleviate their symptoms.
The above research also looked at which patients benefit most from this treatment.
166 patients with widespread pain or fibromyalgia were randomly divided into two groups, the first of which was given a six-session education programme and 20-week pool exercise programme supervised by a physiotherapist, while the second was given just the education programme.
Results for this secondary piece of work showed that the group that received both the education and the physical exercise programme showed the greatest improvement in perceived health, and that patients with moderate symptoms benefited most from exercise.
For sure it is only one study but it does beg the question whether we are using the most appropriate treatments for pain in the lower back and there could be a significant improvement in the rate of long term cure if we could speed up the process of referral.