Co-Occurring Pain Alongside Persistent Low Back Pain is Common

February 2, 2021   |   Evidence in Integrative Healthcare

Anecdotally clinicians often see patients that present with more than one area of pain. A 2021 open access systematic review published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders provides some insight about this. The article titled, Distribution and prevalence of musculoskeletal pain co-occurring with persistent low back pain: a systematic review, conclude that, “People with persistent LBP often report co-occurring neck pain, extremity pain, or multi-site pain.” The implications for patients and clinicians are important to consider in understanding how this clinical picture can impact treatment and prevention strategies. Better guidance including a shift from single area treatment guidelines to recommendations the include multi-area pathways as well as knowledge to engage patients in better self-care are suggestions that can help with this common, sometime complex patient population. To access the full article, use the following link:  https://bmcmusculoskeletdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12891-020-03893-z