The very treatments often used to soothe pain in the lower back, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says is the most common type of pain, might cause it to last longer, according to a new study. Persistent use of pain-relieving steroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen, can actually turn conditions like a wrenched back into a chronic condition, the study found.
Bruce Vrooman, MD, MS, a pain medicine physician at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, told The New York Times he thought the study was study “impressive in its scope,” and said that if the results hold up in a clinical trial, it could “force reconsideration of how we treat acute pain.”
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