Published 27 May 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2115
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2115

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NICE recommends early intensive management of persistent low back pain

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People with persistent non-specific low back pain should be managed early and much more actively than often occurs to reduce their risk of long term pain and disability, recommends guidance for the NHS in England and Wales published this week.

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guideline is designed to improve the early treatment and management of persistent or recurrent low back pain, which is defined as non-specific low back pain that has lasted for more than six weeks but for less than a year.

Low back pain is a common disorder that affects about one third of the UK adult population a year. About 20% of people consult their GP about it. There is a generally accepted approach to the management of back pain of less than six weeks’ duration, based on keeping active and taking analgesics to relieve the pain, but the guideline warns, "What . . . [Full text of this article]

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