It's My Old Back, Again: An Approach to Diagnosing and Managing Back Pain in the Older Adult.
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Attachments
Assessing and treating pain in older adults is of critical importance for nearly all health care providers. Back pain is a common, costly, disabling, yet under-addressed condition in this population. Specifically, musculoskeletal conditions, such as back pain - the focus of this educational module - are the leading causes of pain as adults age. This self-directed, web-based, interactive educational module addresses the evaluation and management of back pain in older adults. The audience for this module is anyone who provides care (both out-patient and in-patient) for older adults with back pain.
1) Summarize the prevalence and impact of back pain in older persons.
2) Describe how to clinically evaluate back pain including a detailed examination.
3) List the differential diagnosis of back pain in older persons.
4) Explain how to manage the most common etiologies of back pain in older adults.
4) Summarize the risks, benefits and guidelines for specific pharmacologic management of back pain in older adults and how to minimize and monitor for adverse effects.
5) Summarize the various non-pharmacological approaches to managing back pain.
6) Describe which situations are appropriate for referral to more specialized care.