Not a fact anymore
Acute low-back pain is best treated with prolonged bed rest.
What we know now
For most uncomplicated acute low-back pain, prolonged bed rest provides no advantage and can delay recovery. Patients are generally encouraged to remain active as tolerated while serious causes are assessed when warning signs are present.
Why it changed
Pain was interpreted as evidence that movement would worsen injury, making rest standard advice. Randomized trials and systematic reviews found that bed rest was ineffective or slightly harmful compared with maintaining ordinary activity.
- Status
- Overturned
- Category
- Medicine
- Accepted for
- ≈140 years
- Accepted approximately
- 19th century–1980s
- Changed approximately
- 1980s–1990s