Back pain: easy is the new difficult?

Abstract

Back pain is one of the most common pain syndromes affecting significantly working capacity and quality of life. In the future, back pain is predicted to grow due to a higher rate of comorbidities and conditions (i.e., obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyle) and population aging. Therefore, back pain relief is an essential issue for various specialists. However, despite a growing body of studies and published data, the issue of the management of patients with back pain is far from being resolved. This paper discusses the efficacy and safety of various therapeutic strategies for back pain treatment, focusing on B vitamins. Analgesic properties plus the enhancement of painkiller effects and lower risk of pain chronicity (as a result of reduced peripheral and central sensitization) favor including B vitamins into treatment regimens for back pain. The authors also address non-pharmacological approaches to back pain and emphasize that a long-lasting effect of analgesics cannot be achieved without switching from reducing acute pain to preventing future exacerbations. KEYWORDS: back pain, B vitamins, biopsychosocial model, adjuvant treatment, manual therapy. FOR CITATION: Kurushina O.V., Barulin A.E. Back pain: easy is the new difficult? Russian Medical Inquiry. 2021;5(10):642–647 (in Russ.). DOI: 10.32364/2587-6821-2021-5-10-642-647.