Orthopaedic experts have decried the growing incidences of back pain among Nigerians saying, over 70 percent of cases seen at orthopaedic hospitals are back pain related.

 

back-painThe experts also blamed 50 percent of absenteeism from work on back pain.

 

The experts who spoke at the 2015 Annual Scientific Conference of the National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi, Lagos, NOHIL, traced most of the cases to bad postures.

 

Speaking, Medical Director, NOHIL, Dr. Olurotimi Odunubi noted that lots of patients are presenting with back pain which obviously could be prevented by ensuring good positioning. “Most back pain related problems occur due to bad postures, unfortunately, some of them are preventable.

 

Once they occur you need a good clinician to have a high index suspicion because there are  so many causes of back pain.  So you have to be able to identify the particular cause of the pain and treat appropriately because wrong diagnosis will lead to wrong treatment.”

 

Odunubi said the workshop was designed to teach the public and health care givers how to make correct diagnosis and apply the right treatment and management for back pain as there have been some challenges in convincing patients on how to manage the problem.

 

In his lecture entitled:“Current Concepts in the Management of Back Pain”, the Guest Lecturer, Prof S.O Giwa who described back pain as “youth leaving the body” explained that back pain remains one of the commonest conditions orthopaedic surgeons treat and it is more common in the lower back specifically in the lumbosacral segment.

 

Giwa said 60 to 70 percent of patients seen at Orthopaedic Clinics are suffering from back pain related problems.

 

 

He however disclosed that “as we all age, whether we like it or not we will suffer from back pain at one point or the other. As soon as you start getting to middle age, and becoming elderly, you will start getting back pain.” On current management of back pain, Giwa explained that due to research, management of back pain has assumed a new dimension with the use of stem cells, veering away from surgical interventions.  The system now uses what is available in the body, that is stem cells, which will now put back in the areas where we have disc issues in the belief that the disc can be regenerated.

 

Genetic intervention

 

“There is also the use of genetic intervention. Just like we have geneticists trying to solve medical and surgical problems with the use of genes, disc problems as a cause of back pain is being looked at from the genetic point of view where we think if you put genes that can replicate or regenerate discs we might be able to solve a lot of issues of back pain.”

 

Noting that back pain affects all races, he said no one can tell if pack pain can be cured but experts can give medication and surgery, adding that adequate caution should be taken in surgical approaches as back pain has been found to be part of aging.  He recommended weight loss for obese individuals and need for people to do away with sedentary life style as it can cause back pain.

 

On his part, Chairman, LOC, Dr Muna Chira in his welcome address said back pain has generated a lot significant interest as 50 percent of absenteeism has been linked to back pain. “It is also estimated that 80 percent of adults above 50 years of age would have experienced severe back pain at one or more points in their lives.  And this figure underscores the decision of the hospital to look at the topic,” he said.

 

He however noted that the back pain could be the first manifestation of serious and life threatening medical conditions in both male and female pelvic viscera.

 

By Vanguard