Clinical Examination, Diagnosis, and Conservative Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Narrative Review

Year: 2024 Country: Belgium Study Population: irrelevant

Custers P, Van de Kelft E, Eeckhaut B, Sabbe W, Hofman A, Debuysscher A et al. Clinical Examination, Diagnosis, and Conservative Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Narrative Review. Life 2024;14(9):1090

Objective

To provide a detailed and evidence-based overview of the clinical examination, diagnostic procedures, and conservative treatment options for chronic non-specific low back pain (CNSLBP), focusing on improving patient management and outcomes.

Methods

This narrative review utilised the following approaches:

Consultation of Belgian guidelines for low back pain.
A snowball search based on two foundational articles.
Literature reviews from the Cochrane database using keywords such as "low back pain," "multidisciplinary biopsychosocial rehabilitation," "physical examination of lumbar spine," and "rehabilitation back pain."
Reference to three authoritative handbooks on physical rehabilitation, sports medicine, and spine surgery.

Outcome

The review emphazised the importance of an accurate and thorough diagnosis to distinguish between specific and non-specific low back pain. Conservative management was recommended, including patient education, reassurance, exercise, and multidisciplinary biopsychosocial rehabilitation whereas treatments like manual therapy and acupuncture remained inconclusive. The David Spine Concept (DSC) positively improved subjective and objective mobility and strength, and the multidisciplinary approach yielded positive clinical outcomes and return-to-work rates in CNSLBP patients. Link to the pdf