ORLANDO, Florida—Over 90% of patients with low-back pain reported significantly reduced pain and improved function 5 years after treatment, British researchers reported at the American Academy of Pain Medicine 2008 meeting.¹

"Significant symptomatic improvement is found in patients 5 years after initial treatment.... Time out of work is significantly increased in patients pursuing litigation compared with patients with spontaneous onset of back pain," reported Adnan Zubovic, MD, of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, UK.

Dr. Zubovic and colleagues assessed progression and current condition of patients with back pain 5 years after initial treatment. Outcome measures included the Short Form 36 (SF36) physical component summary (PCS), mental component summary (MCS), the Oswestry disability index, visual analogue scale for pain, harm avoidance, and disability score. The sample included 46 males and 54 females. Among these patients, 72 reported that pain started spontaneously, and 15 reported pain related to industrial injury or traffic accident.

At the 5-year follow-up, patients reported the following improvements compared with baseline:

• SF36 PCS mean 50.53 vs 31.99 (P <.001)
• SF36 MCS mean 53 vs 37.63 (P <.001)
• Oswestry disability index 13.94 vs 40.71 (P <.001)
• Harm avoidance score 2.96 vs 8.81 (P <.001)
• Disability score 2.26 vs 6.51 (P <.001)
• VAS mean 0.94 vs 4.01 (P <.001)

At 5 years 93% of patients reported finding treatment useful.

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