Back pain: the facts

What helps?
Stay active: It has been established that bed rest is not helpful in nearly all types of back pain. It is better to stay as active as possible. It may not be possible to continue working but it has been shown that people who stay immobile take longer to get back to work than those who keep moving.

Medication: Pain and muscle spasm can be relieved by medication. Anti-inflammatory painkillers such as ibuprofen work best, but paracetamol can also help. If these are not effective your doctor may prescribe other painkillers or muscle relaxants such as diazepam. As the pain eases the level of activity should also increase. Try to go back to work as soon as possible, even if the pain has not completely gone, the longer you are off work the harder it will be to return.

Exercise therapy: There is strong evidence that exercise therapy may help chronic back pain sufferers to return to normal activities as compared with acute low back pain where exercise therapy has not been shown to help. Multidisciplinary treatment involving education, active exercise programmes, behavioural treatment, relaxation exercises and work-place visits can improve long-term pain and reduce time away from work.