Doctors treating back pain incorrectly

According to a study published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine, more physicians are ignoring national guidelines from the American College of Physicians when treating patients with back pain. The group recommends the use of “use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs),” such as ibuprofen and aspirin, combined with physical therapy. However, the study says physicians are instead, “increasingly” prescribing patients with back pain “narcotic drugs, ordering expensive imaging tests or referring them to other physicians.” Furthermore, the study’s lead author, John Mafi, a chief medical resident at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, claims that the guidelines “caution against early imaging or other aggressive treatments, except in rare cases.”