A survey conducted by NPR and Tuven Health Analytics looks at trends in treatment of back pain. Researchers surveyed 3,002 respondents and found that 51 percent indicated they had suffered from back pain in the past year. 

Of those, 58 percent said they sought medical treatment, although 55 percent said they treated the pain themselves. In addition, 45 percent indicated their back pain had reduced, 25 percent said it stayed the same, 25 percent said it went away completely, and 5 percent said it increased. The researchers found that the most-prescribed (40 percent) medical treatment was prescription painkillers, followed by exercise/physical therapy (31 percent), injections (20 percent), massage (17 percent), steroids (17 percent), over-the-counter painkillers (13 percent), and surgery (12 percent). Learn more...