It’s a pain: Don’t waste money, just pop a pill and go to work

Having your back cracked by a chiropractor or physiotherapist to ease lower back pain is “a waste of time and money”.

Having your back cracked by a chiropractor or physiotherapist to ease lower back pain is “a waste of time and money”.

International researchers have carried out a study and found that patients get better just as quickly if they simply stay active and take a mild painkiller instead of spending money on physiotherapy, the Daily Mail reported here.

“These results are important because both diclofenac and spinal manipulative therapy have potential risks and additional costs for patients,” lead researcher Mark Hancock of the University of Sydney was quoted as saying.

Story continues below this ad

He added that if those with back pain could do without these treatments, then “GPs can manage patients confidently without exposing them to increased risks and costs associated with NSAIDs or spinal manipulative therapy”.

The findings, reported in The Lancet journal, involved 240 patients with acute lower back pain who had been seen by their GPs.

They were assigned to four treatment groups, only one of which received both diclofenac and genuine spinal manipulative therapy. The other three groups were treated with diclofenac and “dummy” spinal manipulation; genuine spinal manipulation plus a placebo; or both a dummy drug and fake spinal manipulation.

The results showed neither diclofenac nor spinal manipulative therapy significantly increased the speed of recovery.

Story continues below this ad

A total of 237 of the 240 patients recovered over the course of 12 weeks. Some 22 patients had possible adverse reactions to the treatments, including stomach disturbances, dizziness and heart palpitations.