PainRelief.com Interview with: Nafis B Eghrar, MS4 Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Cleveland, Ohio
PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Gabapentin has shown promise in treating nerve-related pain, and it has become a popular choice to treat chronic low back pain, despite limited evidence. Currently, there is a discrepancy on whether taking gabapentin increases a patient’s risk for developing dementia.
Our main findings were that gabapentin prescription was associated with an increased risk for dementia and mild cognitive impairment. This risk was pronounced in younger adults (age 18-64). Moreover, the incidence of dementia and mild cognitive impairment was higher in those prescribed gabapentin 12+ times compared to those prescribed gabapentin 3-11 times.
Diagnosing lower back conditions and pathologies continues to become more accurate and less intrusive, with recent innovations offering alternatives to the traditional MRI scan. Some conditions are easy to diagnose without technology, with trained doctors able to spot the telltale signs of conditions such as spondylolisthesis based on the patient’s symptoms. However, some issues are much harder to detect, which is why scientists are continuously improving diagnostic imaging solutions to detect hidden problems.
We’ll guide you through modern diagnostic imaging methods for identifying lower back pathologies, considering the advantages and limitations. By spotting conditions early, patients can avoid life-changing symptoms and receive treatment before invasive surgery is required. Surgery for severe spinal stenosis and spondylolisthesis brings many risks, but early diagnosis can significantly reduce the number of people who require such procedures.
Diagnostic Imaging for Lower Back Conditions
There are a number of existing diagnostic imaging methods that have been used for many years, with some of these technologies more modern and more effective than others. Here’s a summary of existing methods.
X-rays (Radiographs)
X-rays are the most basic and commonly used initial imaging method for lower back problems. They’re typically the first-line imaging for trauma, suspected fractures, or obvious structural abnormalities.
X-rays are best used for:
Bone fractures and alignment issues
Spondylolisthesis (vertebral slippage)
Degenerative changes in spine structure
Scoliosis and other spinal deformities
Osteoporosis-related compression fractures
X-rays are limited as they cannot visualize soft tissues like muscles, ligaments, or discs, and they are not effective at detecting early degenerative changes. They also only provide basic structural information, and there is a very small risk of radiation exposure.
PainRelief.com Interview with: Rayane Haddadj, PhD Candidate Department of Public Health and Nursing Norwegian University of Science and Technology
PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Low back pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide and accounts for the highest healthcare spending in the Unites States.
Given its widespread impact, identifying modifiable risk factors – those that can be addressed through public health policy and targeted interventions – is therefore of great importance for reducing the burden of this condition.
PainRelief.com Interview with: Christopher Williams PhD University Centre for Rural Health School of Health Sciences University of Sydney, Lismore Research and Knowledge Translation Directorate Mid North Coast Local Health District, Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia
PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Other research has linked unhealthy lifestyle habits to low back pain (such as being inactive, overweight, smoking and consuming a poor diet, or too much to low back pain). However, until our study we didn’t know if changing these lifestyle habits led to improvements in a person’s back pain disability.
PainRelief.com: What are the main findings?
Response: Our clinical trial found that focusing care on lifestyle had a slightly bigger impact on back pain related disability, weight, and quality of life compared to the current recommended physiotherapy treatment for back pain (advice to stay active and exercise). The results show that helping people understand how lifestyle habits contribute to back pain and supporting them to make changes to these habits is better than the current recommended care.
PainRelief.com: What should readers take away from your report?
Response: Managing back pain is about more than the (bio)mechanics of what is going on in your spine. There are lots of things that may affect how your back feels. Lifestyle factors – activity, nutrition, weight, smoking or alcohol use, and sleep – are some of those things. Any person dealing with back pain should expect to get some help to figure out how their lifestyle habits can improve their back pain, as part of a comprehensive back pain management plan.
PainRelief.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Response: There are many ways to support lifestyle changes related to back pain. We aren’t quite sure which are the best for different people, and the best way to support people with pain make such changes. For example, while digital or virtual ways of accessing care seem promising, we aren’t sure if these are more or less effective/cost effectives as traditional ‘in-person’ models of care.
Disclosures: The study was supported by funding the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.
Citation: Mudd E, Davidson SRE, Kamper SJ, et al. Healthy Lifestyle Care vs Guideline-Based Care for Low Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(1):e2453807. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.53807
The information on PainRelief.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website.
PainRelief.com Interview with: Prof. Dr. Frank Huygen Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, the Netherlands
PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is a widely accepted therapy for people who have chronic pain that has been difficult to treat with conventional medical management (CMM) such as analgesics, physical therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Yet despite its clinical success, there is still debate about aspects of SCS therapy.
This systemic review and network meta-analysis aimed to improve upon prior evidence reviews by including more up to date randomized clinical trial data and using more advanced analytical methods. We evaluated the efficacy associated with SCS, including modern RCTs that compared novel forms of SCS compared to traditional SCS, or compared with CMM.
PainRelief.com Interview with: Hallie Tankha, Ph.D., Research faculty Department of Wellness and Preventive Medicine Cleveland Clinic, and first author of the study
PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Numerous studies have highlighted the benefits of yoga for individuals with chronic low back pain, including reductions in pain intensity, improvements in daily functioning (such as walking or climbing stairs), and better sleep quality. However, these studies used in-person yoga sessions. With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare delivery had to adapt quickly, and yoga was no exception. As virtual healthcare options continue to expand, this led us to wonder: could virtual yoga offer the same benefits as in-person classes for chronic low back pain?
PainRelief.com Interview with: Jooa Norha, MSc (Health Sciences), PT Doctoral researcher Turku PET Centre University of Turku, Finland
PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The previous evidence linking sedentary behavior (or sitting to simplify) and back pain is surprisingly scarce. Therefore, we wanted to investigate whether reducing sitting could help with back pain among adults who sit for major parts of the day. And indeed, we did find that reducing sitting for about 40 min/day for six months kept back pain from worsening.
PainRelief.com Interview with: Natasha C Pocovi Department of Health Sciences Macquarie University, Sydney NSW, Australia
PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Approximately 620 million people globally, reported suffering low back pain in 2020. While it’s not considered a life-threatening disease, we can see the very serious impacts it can have on people’s lifestyle, ability to work, and overall quality of life. While much work is being done to treat low back pain, ‘prevention’ is mostly unchartered territory. This is particularly important given the high rates of recurrent low back pain, where 7 in 10 people who recover from an episode of low back pain will have a new episode in the next 12 months.
A small number of studies have examined exercise to prevent the recurrence of low back pain. These have primarily focused on group-based, complex exercises focusing on a combination of strengthening and improving the endurance and flexibility of the spine. Some of these were delivered over several supervised sessions, some as many as 20 x 1-hour sessions. This becomes less feasible for patients to engage in.
PainRelief.com Interview with: John C. Licciardone, DO, MS, MBA, FACPM Regents Professor and Richards-Cohen Distinguished Chair in Clinical Research Department of Family Medicine, MET-568 University of North Texas Health Science Center Fort Worth, TX 76107
PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?
Response:The Pain Registry for Epidemiological, Clinical, and Interventional Studies and Innovation focuses on the patient-physician relationship and its association with chronic pain treatment and outcomes.
Previous studies involving physician empathy often have been limited to pain clinics and involved short-term follow-up. Our study aimed to study the impact of physician empathy on outcomes among patients with chronic low back pain in community settings throughout the United States over 12 months of follow-up.
PainRelief.com Interview with: Dr Nils Niederstrasser Senior Lecturer Department of Psychology University of Portsmouth
PainRelief.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: The number of people living with musculoskeletal pain increases with age, but few studies have specifically focused on the effects of chronic pain on the employment status of older populations.
The information on PainRelief.com is provided for educational purposes only, and is in no way intended to diagnose, endorese, cure, or treat any medical or other condition. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health and ask your doctor any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. In addition to all other limitations and disclaimers in this agreement, service provider and its third party providers disclaim any liability or loss in connection with the content provided on this website. None of the content on PainRelief.com is warranted by the editors or owners of PainRelief.com or Eminent Domains Inc.
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