Johnson McEvoy is an expert in the field of low back pain and works as a chartered physiotherapist in a private praxis in Ireland. He has more than 30 years of experience and is not only teaching courses but also working on studies, book chapters and other publications. In the interview, Jacqueline Brunner – also part of our DGSA team – and Johnson McEvoy are giving you an overview about the relevance and different causes of low back pain. They are also talking about various assessment and therapy options.
Low back pain has a very high life-time prevalence and is also a huge economic burden to the health care sector. Because of that, the interest in the best available treatment for these patients has risen in the last decades. In our opinion, therapy should be evidence informed. Guidelines and study results are intended to guide us and form a framework for our treatment plan. In addition, there are many non-tangible aspects, we have to take into account. We believe in this combination of patient-centered care and evidence-informed practice and are sure this enables us to treat our patients the best possible way!
List of study references mentioned in the interview:
• Ailliet, L., S. M. Rubinstein, T. Hoekstra, M. W. van Tulder and H. C. de Vet. (2016). Adding Psychosocial Factors Does Not Improve Predictive Models for People With Spinal Pain Enough to Warrant Extensive Screening for Them at Baseline. Phys Ther, 96(8): 1179-1189. Doi: 10.2522/ptj.20150304
• Ainpradub, K., E. Sitthipornvorakul, P. Janwantanakul and A. J. van der Beek. (2016). Effect of education on non-specific neck and low back pain: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Man Ther, 22: 31-41. Doi: 10.1016/j.math.2015.10.012
• Furlan, A. D., M. Giraldo, A. Baskwill, E. Irvin and M. Imamura. (2015). Massage for low back pain. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD001929.pub3
• Iglesias-Gonzalez, J. J., M. T. Munoz-Garcia, D. P. Rodrigues-de-Souza, F. Alburquerque-Sendin and C. Fernandez-de-Las-Penas. (2013). Myofascial trigger points, pain, disability, and sleep quality in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain. Pain Med, 14(12): 1964-1970. Doi: 10.1111/pme.12224
• Lam, O. T., D. M. Strenger, M. Chan-Fee, P. T. Pham, R. A. Preuss and S. M. Robbins. (2018). Effectiveness of the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy for Treating Low Back Pain: Literature Review With Meta-analysis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 48(6): 476-490. Doi: 10.2519/jospt.2018.7562
• Laslett, M., B. Oberg, C. N. Aprill and B. McDonald. (2005). Centralization as a predictor of provocation discography results in chronic low back pain, and the influence of disability and distress on diagnostic power. Spine J, 5(4): 370-380. Doi: 10.1016/j.spinee.2004.11.007
• Mahmoudzadeh, A., Z. S. Rezaeian, A. Karimi and J. Dommerholt. (2016). The effect of dry needling on the radiating pain in subjects with discogenic low-back pain: A randomized control trial. J Res Med Sci, 21: 86. Doi: 10.4103/1735-1995.192502
• Mayoral, O., I. Salvat, M. T. Martin, S. Martin, J. Santiago, J. Cotarelo and C. Rodriguez. (2013). Efficacy of myofascial trigger point dry needling in the prevention of pain after total knee arthroplasty: a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, 2013: 694941. Doi: 10.1155/2013/694941
• NICE Guidelines, Low Back Pain, published 2016, last updated 2020. [ Ссылка ]
• Sánchez-Infante, J., M. J. Navarro-Santana, A. Bravo-Sánchez, F. Jiménez-Diaz and J. Abián-Vicén. (2021). Is Dry Needling Applied by Physical Therapists Effective for Pain in Musculoskeletal Conditions? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Physical Therapy 2021, 101(3): 1-15. Doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzab070
• Sluka, K. A. (2009). Mechanisms and Management of Pain for the Physical Therapist. IASP press, 1st edition
• Stroman, P. W., J. M. Powers, G. Ioachim, H. J. M. Warren and K. McNeil. (2021). Investigation of the neural basis of expectation-based analgesia in the human brainstem and spinal cord by means of functional magnetic resonance imaging. Neurobiol Pain, 10: 100068. Doi: 10.1016/j.ynpai.2021.100068
• Waddell, G. (2004). The Back Pain Revolution. Churchill Livingstone, 2nd edition
