WESTMINSTER, Colo., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) has released an extensive update to its evidence-based practice guidelines. The chapter on low back disorders is the latest revision to ACOEM's Occupational Medicine Practice Guidelines: Evaluation and Management of Common Health Problems and Functional Recovery in Workers, 2nd Ed., currently in wide-spread use across the country.
Subscribers to UMK Professional (Utilization Management Knowledgebase), or the ACOEM Guidelines Electronic Version, have immediate access to the low back chapter free of charge.
The revised low back chapter contains the following enhancements:
-- Inclusion of numerous disorders including acute, subacute, and chronic
low back pain, radicular pain syndromes, spinal stenosis, spinal
fractures, sacroilitis, and spondylolisthesis.
-- Detailed recommendations regarding the use of appliances (e.g., lumbar
supports, magnets), skilled non-medical therapies (e.g., massage,
manipulation), ultrasound, low level laser therapy, electrical
therapies (e.g., TENS, PENS), and acupuncture.
-- An in-depth review of medications and injection therapies to treat low
back disorders.
-- A thorough review of surgical procedures on the low back including
discectomy, spinal fusion, disc replacement, and implantable spinal
cord stimulators.
-- Tables which summarize the recommendations by clinical measure and by
low back disorder.
A crucial part of the updating process was ACOEM's adoption of a new more meticulous strength-of-evidence rating methodology which incorporates the highest scientific standards for reviewing evidence-based literature. As a result, the updated low back chapter contains an even more extensive list of references -- nearly 2,000 compared to the 150 plus in the previous version.
ACOEM's online treatment guidelines are exclusively distributed by Reed Group. For more information, or to order UMK Professional or the ACOEM Guidelines Electronic version, visit http://www.reedgroup.com/ or call a product consultant at 866.889.4449.
About Reed Group: Dr. Presley Reed founded Reed Group in 1981 to address workplace productivity and employee absenteeism issues in the corporate environment. Reed Group maintains four key lines of business: Guidelines, Service, Data Analytics, and Education. In addition to providing integrated clinical case management service for non-occupational and occupational leaves, Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and other leave of absence administrative services to employers, Reed Group publishes the industry-standard disability duration guidelines, The Medical Disability Advisor (textbook, Windows software, and Internet and data integration versions), now in its Fifth Edition. For more information, call 866.889.4449, or visit http://www.reedgroup.com/.
About the American College of Occupation and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) Founded in 1916, ACOEM is an international medical society of more than 5,000 occupational and environmental physicians and other allied health professionals that provide leadership to promote optimal health and safety of workers, workplaces, and environments. The College is headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. For more information, visit http://www.acoem.org/.
Reed Group
