Retrospective review of the efficacy for sublingual ketamine in the treatment of chronic low back pain defined by a cause and central functional pain symptom focused clinical model

Abstract

Purpose

Chronic low back pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide. A clinical model for its cause is lacking. Defining a cause based clinical model and a framework of understanding back pain in terms of peripheral structural and central functional pain is essential for optimal management.

Materials and methods

We describe the results of the largest published audit of 41 chronic low back pain patients, receiving outpatient sublingual ketamine therapy for defined central functional pain along with conventional peripheral structural pain management. Our clinical model assigns Movement Dysfunction as the primary cause for low back pain symptoms and restores it with Movement Therapy focused rehabilitation which is also defined. Patients were derived from a tertiary single neurosurgical specialist practice in Brisbane Australia over a three year period.

Results

Severe pain and disability measurements more than halved and only 13% of patients ceased ketamine prematurely due to predominantly non-sinister side effects common to all pharmaceutical therapies. All other surveyed metrics of utility were highly favourable in this challenging cohort of chronic back pain patients biased to poor outcomes.

Conclusions

Outpatient ketamine maintains high efficacy and safety used in conjunction with a unique clinical model that describes chronic low back pain.

IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

• This paper builds on our previous publications that describe the disease of movement dysfunction as an integral factor to the development of a cause based clinical model for the condition of chronic low back pain symptoms.

• Our clinical application of this model, applying the necessary dual approach of controlling symptoms arising from peripheral structural pain and central functional pain in conjunction with elimination of root causation has shown favourable outcomes in patients with high levels of pain and disability based on their tertiary referral origin and high Oswestry Disability Scores.

• Removing chronic low back pain from its position as one of the world’s leading causes of pain and disability is more likely if the rehabilitation industry can replicate and test treatment algorithms based around established clinical models of disease which is the important subject of this paper.

Keywords:

• Back pain
• clinical model
• out-patient sublingual ketamine
• movement dysfunction

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.