Illustration: (c) Anne Asher 2007 Licensed to About.com

Back pain is ubiquitous. Lots of new treatments and tests have emerged in recent years to try to address it. A 2009 study led by Richard Deyo, MD, PhD, and notable patient advocate specializing in spinal treatments, found that Medicare payments for spinal epidurals, spine MRIs, opioid pain management, and spinal fusions have shot up significantly since 1994. This is most likely a combination of more procedures done and an increase in cost for those services.

So how well did the recipients of the treatments and tests do? Deyo says there are not a lot of follow up studies, but the ones that have been done suggest that back pain is actually increasing. For example, he reports that the US Medical Expediture Panel Survey found several factors that usually go with back pain (like limitations in what you're able to do and your mental health) actually rose between the years of 1997 and 2005.

One might think that with the increase in costs and use of new spine treatments, the people on the receiving end would feel better for the experience.

If you have chronic or subacute low back pain, what do you do to cope with it?

A recent study from England looked at 700 people with back pain lasting longer than about a week (subacute and chronic back pain patients). They gave approximately half of the patients an assessment and advice on what to do, or "standard treatment". The other half received cognitive behavior therapy. CBT is a short term therapy that helps people identify the things that trigger their pain, and to take actionable steps to manage them.

The researchers found that after a year, not only did the CBT help reduce the peoples' pain, but it did so at a low cost.

About.com's Depression Guide, Nancy Schimelpfening, has a great intro article on cognitive behavior therapy.

_{Source:
Lamb, S.E. et al. Group cognitive behavioural treatment for low-back pain in primary care: a randomised controlled trial and cost-effectiveness analysis. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 26 February 2010}

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Photo: (c) Alvimann

The recent tragedy at the Winter Olympics site in Vancouver has me thinking a lot about the risk-taking I do (and refuse to do). Wearing a helmet, for example, can reduce the risk of a serious neck or head injury. So I wear one, along with my seatbelt, even when I don't feel like it. How about you? How do you keep your neck safe? Share your precautions (or confessions).

Here are some more ways to prevent a broken neck.

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Falling is a leading cause of neck fracture in senior citizens and the elderly. Falls can have devastating consequences, so prevention is the best medicine. The Daily Spine has a few tips on ways to prevent falls in elderly people.

More from The Daily Spine:

| You Don't Have to Throw Your Back Out | Aspirin for Back Pain | Morning Spine Stretches |

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