Back pain: Strong drugs & X-rays "counter productive"

On the 1st of September 2022, The Australian Commission on safety and quality in health care released a clinical care standard for Low back pain in Australia.

You can view their announcement panel discussion here.

We think this is a really positive move.

The key thing that they call out in establishing the standard is that 75% of people can get better without formal treatment. Only 1% of people have a serious cause for Low Back Pain.

The standard is great because it establishes a uniform way that people will be treated for low back pain and avoids unnecessary medical interventions. Serious cases are treated seriously and all other cases are treated in a way that promotes self management, positive mental approaches to our bodies and the belief that our backs are strong.  Things like x-rays, MRIs and strong drugs are called out as counter productive.

The key to all non-serious back pain is movement. Movement is safe and allows our bodies to recover quickly and building the strength and flexibility to avoid future back pain episodes.

At limber were on a mission to halve back pain by 2050. We're ecstatic about this guidance from the commission providing such clear and up to date guidelines for the treatment of lower back pain. More countries like New Zealand and the United States, should be following suit in aligning national lower back pain care standards with the latest science.