Observational studyPain research & management2026
Still Hurting: Low Back Pain Presentations in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Observational Study With a Cross-Sectional Follow-Up Survey.
Observational study in Pain research & management, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Still Hurting: Low Back Pain Presentations in the Emergency Department: A Retrospective Observational Study With a Cross-Sectional Follow-Up Survey.Pain research & management · 2026Observational
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNontraumatic low back pain is highly prevalent in Australia, affecting 79.2% of adults and accounting for up to 4% of emergency department (ED) presentations. This study examines the postdischarge outcomes of ED patients admitted to a short stay unit (SSU) for low back pain management.
methodA cross-sectional observational study design was employed, comprising retrospective observational data and a follow-up cross-sectional survey. Data were collected between June 2023 and February 2024. Functional status was measured with the Modified Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire.
resultsOf the 422 participants invited, 21% (n = 89) completed questionnaires. Respondents were 58% female and 42% male, aged 20.3-96.1 years (mean 63.4, SD 19.4). Most respondents (71.2%) reported moderate-to-severe disability, with 19.1% reporting complete disability. Over 50% were still taking opioid analgesics at the time of survey completion. In the multivariable regression model, pharmacological treatments were significantly associated with disability scores (F (4, 84) = 5.34, p < 0.001). Use of short-acting opioids was associated with an average increase of 7.5 units in disability score and use of long-acting opioids with an average increase of 8.1 units, reflecting ongoing pain or greater disability among participants receiving opioid medications. Time spent in the SSU was associated with the severity of disability. Patients who later developed moderate or severe disability spent a mean of 31 h in SSU, compared to 17.5 h among those with no or mild disability (p = 0.012). Only 45% of patients sought ongoing physiotherapy care in the month following discharge.
conclusionAt one month postdischarge, most participants reported considerable ongoing disability and pain. A substantial proportion continued to use opioids, while physiotherapy services remained underutilised. Findings from this study informed a local business case to establish physiotherapy 'virtual hot clinics' for patients within 1 week of discharge.
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