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In this the seventh article of the SOCRATES series we present our synopses of reviews from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews relating to analgesia that the working party felt were of particular relevance to Emergency Medicine practitioners. The methods of our review and the rationale for the forming the SOCRATES working party are as have previously been published.
NON-STEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS FOR LOW BACK PAIN
Despite low back pain being a common problem and a major cause of employee sickness, the effectiveness of the many available treatment modalities is uncertain. There are a variety of national guidelines available on the management of low back pain that recommend the prescription of NSAIDs as a therapeutic option.
However, there is disagreement as to the exact role they play in relation to other therapies.
Results
Fifty one studies of 6057 patients. 16 studies were RCTs that were classed as high quality.
SOCRATES says
NSAIDs are slightly effective for short-term improvement in patients with acute low back pain. It is unclear whether they are more effective than other analgesics or whether one particular NSAID is better than another.
[black triangle up] Tulder MW van, Scholten RJPM, Koes BW, et al . Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for low back pain (Cochrane Review). In: The Cochrane Library , Issue 4, Oxford: Update Software, 2000.
PHYSICAL MEDICINE MODALITIES FOR MECHANICAL...