Study: Back Pain Guidelines Not Followed

Doctors often don’t treat back pain in the way that guidelines recommend. That’s what researchers found in a study of medical practice in Australia. The study looked at the treatment of 3,533 patients. Researchers compared their care with standard guidelines. For example, the guidelines say that few people need an MRI, X-ray or other imaging study. But 1 out of 4 patients received one. The guidelines say that acetaminophen is the best drug to try first. But doctors more often prescribed nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or opioid pain relievers. Doctors are urged to educate patients about back pain. Only 1 out of 5 received such advice. The study results appeared in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.