People with back pain are less likely to miss work days with recommended treatments: Study

According to new Research According to Utah University Health and MD Guidelines scientists, people with back pain injuries receive only back pain treatment that is not recommended by medical guidelines compared to those who are treated according to the guidelines. I miss a lot of work 11 days a year.

The findings are published in the journal Public Library of Science (PLOS) ONE.

“The more rigorously evidence-based guidelines are followed in people’s care, the faster the resolution of back pain will be,” said Dr. Kurt Hegman, MD, director of the University of Utah’s Rocky Mountain Occupational Environmental Health Center, the lead author of the study. I will.

That may be the case, but 65% of the people who participated in the study received at least some deprecated treatments for back pain. Among the approximately 60,000 people whose medical claims were analyzed:

1. 14% received only non-recommended treatment. 51% received a combination of non-recommended and recommended treatments3. 14% received only recommended treatment 4. And 21 percent had not received medical intervention.

People who received recommended treatment in combination with deprecated treatment missed a median of 8 business days within a year and saw intermediate benefits compared to those who received only recommended treatment.

The most common deprecated treatment was the prescription of opioids. Opioids are not recommended because they are more debilitating and addictive than exercise. X-rays can lead to inaccurate diagnosis. The most commonly recommended treatments were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and muscle relaxants.

The data were obtained from workers’ accident compensation claims in California from 2009 to 2018 from employees who had uncomplicated acute low back pain or tension, the most common injury in the workplace.

Researchers have similar treatment patterns to subsequent clinic visits. Scientists then calculated the number of working days lost within a year after the injury.

Although the majority of workers received deprecated treatment, care providers have improved their compliance with medical guidelines over time. In 2009, 10% were treated according to the guidelines, but by 2018 it had risen to 18%. The most dramatic change in treatment is opioid prescribing, which has decreased by 86% over the last nine years.

“The reduction in opioid prescriptions is particularly impressive,” says Hegmann. “In this case, the insurer may not pay for opioids, even if prescribed. This is if you miss a health care” carrot “and instead have a” stick “in compliance with the guidelines. It suggests what you can do. “”

Practice guidelines are based on a systematic review of scientific evidence and are designed to guide healthcare providers in deciding how to treat a patient’s health. Guidelines are usually updated every few years, which can make it difficult for healthcare providers to keep up. Doctors may not follow the guidelines because they are unaware of the guidelines, do not know how to implement the recommended treatment, prefer to continue the practices they have used in the past, or for other reasons.

Anyway, the significant reduction in opioid prescriptions for back pain suggests that additional incentives such as insurance to refuse to pay for deprecated treatments will increase compliance with the guidelines. Hegmann and lead authors of the study, Fraser Gaspar, PhD, say it is better for patients to implement decision support tools and other methods to facilitate compliance with the guidelines.

“Absenteeism affects many aspects of your life,” says Gaspar, who did the research when he was a scientist at MD Guidelines. “In addition to the disability that causes people to miss their jobs, workers often experience low incomes, additional costs and mental burdens. Returning people to normal life It’s very important, and according to our research, the guidelines make it happen faster. ”

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