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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Disabilities".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2023) | Viewed by 9303

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Prof. Dr. Jesús Seco Calvo

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Guest Editor

1. Institute of Biomedicine (IBIOMED), University of León, 24071 León, Spain
2. Visiting Researcher, University of the Basque Country, 48940 Leioa, Spain
Interests: athletes; hormones; injury; low back pain; neck pain
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Dear Colleagues,

Common low back pain (LBP) is defined as pain between the costal margins and the inferior gluteal folds, which is usually accompanied by painful limitation of movement. LBP represents a major health, social and economic burden and is a major cause of public and health expenditure in most developed countries. The lifetime prevalence of common LBP among the general population is above 80%, being the leading cause of “years lived with disability” worldwide. In routine clinical practice, the presence of comorbidities may make LBP more difficult to treat, resulting in a higher risk for it the condition chronic.

In this context, new studies with the potential to produce major improvements in current LBP treatment are needed. This Special Issue on “Low Back Pain and Disability” invites authors to submit original research articles (randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, practice-based/real-world evidence/registry studies, etc.), systematic reviews, narrative or scoping reviews, and meta-analyses that enhance the body of knowledge in this field. Research conducted in populations that have received little attention thus far is of particular interest. Controversial works that may lead to a potential paradigm shift will receive the highest priority for inclusion.

Prof. Dr. Jesús Seco Calvo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

low back pain
disability
quality of life
routine clinical practice
evolution
prognosis
treatment
clinical outcome

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 613 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effectiveness of Epidural Steroid Injection Depending on Discoradicular Contact: A Prospective Randomized Trial

by Dino Budrovac, Ivan Radoš, Dijana Hnatešen, Ivana Haršanji-Drenjančević, Ozana Katarina Tot, Franjo Katić, Iva Lukić, Sonja Škiljić, Nenad Nešković and Iva Dimitrijević

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3672; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043672 - 19 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1816

Abstract

Lumbar radicular pain is a major public health and economic problem. It is among the most common reasons for professional disability. The most common cause of lumbar radicular pain is intervertebral disc herniation, which results from degenerative disc changes. The dominant pain mechanisms are direct pressure of the hernia on the nerve root and the local inflammatory process triggered by intervertebral disc herniation. Treatment of lumbar radicular pain includes conservative, minimally invasive, and surgical treatment. The number of minimally invasive procedures is constantly increasing, and among these methods is epidural administration of steroids and local anesthetic through a transforaminal approach (ESI TF). The aim of this research was to examine the effectiveness of ESI TF as measured by a visual analog scale (VAS) and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), depending on whether there is contact between the herniated intervertebral disc and the nerve root. In both groups of participants, there was a significant reduction in pain intensity, but there was no significant difference between the groups. In the group with disc herniation and nerve root contact, the only significant reduction was in pain intensity (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in measurements in other domains of the ODI. In the group without disc herniation and nerve contact, there was a significant difference in all domains except weight lifting. In the group without contact, there was significant improvement after 1 month (p = 0.001) and 3 months (p < 0.001) according to the ODI, while there was no significant improvement in the group with contact. In addition, there were no significant differences in the distribution of participants based on the ODI and whether disc herniation and nerve contact was present. The results suggest that transforaminal epidural administration of steroids is a clinically effective method for treating lumbar radicular pain caused by intervertebral disc herniation in people with and without nerve root contact, without significant differences. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low Back Pain and Disability)

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9 pages, 634 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Primary Investigation of Low Back Pain among Saudi Arabians: A Cross-Sectional Study

by Asma Saad Alrushud, Dalyah Mohammed Alamam, Muneera Mohammed Almurdi, Shouq Khalid Almutairi, Razan Othman Alzahrani, Manal Salem Alanazi, Wafa Madani Dhahi and Dimah Majid Alshaiqy

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(19), 12854; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912854 - 07 Oct 2022

Viewed by 1408

Abstract

Low back pain (LBP) is a prevalent disease that affects all ages and is a symptom that induces immobility. Patients’ beliefs may influence LBP management, and adjusting detrimental beliefs is required to improve treatment outcomes. Our aim was to evaluate the prevalence of LBP within the Saudi population and beliefs regarding LBP, physical activity, rest, imaging, and medication. People with LBP were targeted with a questionnaire containing sections on demographic information and the validated Back Beliefs Questionnaire (BBQ), in addition to questions regarding imaging, physical activity, rest and medication. A total of 651 responses were received, 559 of them (86%) experienced LBP. The most common age group was those aged 18–21 (n = 221), 80% from females. The average BBQ score was 27.8 (SD = 5.58). The majority of the respondents held the following beliefs, which are contrary to the best available evidence: back pain must be rested (77.1%) and X-rays or scans are required to gain the best medical care for LBP (73.2%). The Saudi population holds unhelpful beliefs that may affect their quality of life. Healthcare professionals working with patients with LBP have an important role in changing detrimental beliefs and behaviors about the condition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low Back Pain and Disability)

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20 pages, 1366 KiB

Open AccessArticle

by Ana Royuela, Francisco M. Kovacs, Jesús Seco-Calvo, Borja M. Fernández-Félix, Víctor Abraira and Javier Zamora

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(8), 3855; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18083855 - 07 Apr 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2220

Abstract

Neuro-reflexotherapy (NRT) is a proven effective, invasive treatment for neck and back pain. To assess physician-related variability in results, data from post-implementation surveillance of 9023 patients treated within the Spanish National Health Service by 12 physicians were analyzed. Separate multi-level logistic regression models were developed for spinal pain (SP), referred pain (RP), and disability. The models included all patient-related variables predicting response to NRT and physician-related variables. The Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) and the Median Odds Ratio (MOR) were calculated. Adjusted MOR (95% CI) was 1.70 (1.47; 2.09) for SP, 1.60 (1.38; 1.99) for RP, and 1.65 (1.42; 2.03) for disability. Adjusted ICC (95%CI) values were 0.08 (0.05; 0.15) for SP, 0.07 (0.03; 0.14) for RP, and 0.08 (0.04; 0.14) for disability. In the sensitivity analysis, in which the 6920 patients treated during the physicians’ training period were excluded, adjusted MOR was 1.38 (1.17; 1.98) for SP, 1.37 (1.12; 2.31) for RP, and 1.25 (1.09; 1.79) for disability, while ICCs were 0.03 (0.01; 0.14) for SP, 0.03 (0.00; 0.19) for RP, and 0.02 (0.00; 0.10) for disability. In conclusion, the variability in results obtained by different NRT-certified specialists is reasonable. This suggests that current training standards are appropriate. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low Back Pain and Disability)

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Review

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18 pages, 1364 KiB

Open AccessReview

Evaluating the Impact of Modic Changes on Operative Treatment in the Cervical and Lumbar Spine: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

by Mark J. Lambrechts, Parker Brush, Tariq Z. Issa, Gregory R. Toci, Jeremy C. Heard, Amit Syal, Meghan M. Schilken, Jose A. Canseco, Christopher K. Kepler and Alexander R. Vaccaro

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(16), 10158; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191610158 - 16 Aug 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2890

Abstract

Modic changes (MCs) are believed to be potential pain generators in the lumbar and cervical spine, but it is currently unclear if their presence affects postsurgical outcomes. We performed a systematic review in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. All studies evaluating cervical or lumbar spine postsurgical outcomes in patients with documented preoperative MCs were included. A total of 29 studies and 6013 patients with 2688 of those patients having preoperative MCs were included. Eight included studies evaluated cervical spine surgery, eleven evaluated lumbar discectomies, nine studied lumbar fusion surgery, and three assessed lumbar disc replacements. The presence of cervical MCs did not impact the clinical outcomes in the cervical spine procedures. Moreover, most studies found that MCs did not significantly impact the clinical outcomes following lumbar fusion, lumbar discectomy, or lumbar disc replacement. A meta-analysis of the relevant data found no significant association between MCs and VAS back pain or ODI following lumbar discectomy. Similarly, there was no association between MCs and JOA or neck pain following ACDF procedures. Patients with MC experienced statistically significant improvements following lumbar or cervical spine surgery. The postoperative improvements were similar to patients without MCs in the cervical and lumbar spine. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Low Back Pain and Disability)

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