Effect of plaster corset in acute low back pain in less developed country

Aim of the workTo evaluate the effect of plaster corset in patients with acute low back pain (LBP) in the Rheumatology Department of National Hospital University Hubert Koutoukou Maga of Cotonou (Benin).Patients and methodsA prospective case-control study was conducted from January 2012 to June 2013. The selected patients suffered from acute low back pain and were treated with plaster corset for thirty days associated with medical drugs compared to a control-group with the same disease treated only with medical drugs. Demographic data, clinical parameters and outcomes during six months were collected. The primary endpoint was the reduction of visual analog score (VAS) for pain and the functional disability was evaluated using the EIFEL score.ResultsThirty-three patients were recruited in the plaster corset group (PG) and 34 patients of matched age and sex in the control group. The mean VAS was 86.7 ± 21.3 and 88.3 ± 20.2 respectively in the “PG” and “CG”. The results showed a significant decrease of VAS after 3 months in PG than in the CG (p = 0.023) but no significant difference was present after 6 months. The EIFEL score significantly decreased in the PG compared to the CG after 6 months. The number of patients who did not take any medication after three months was higher in the PG in contrast to the CG (27 patients versus 12).ConclusionPlaster corset can be complementarily used in addition to the medical treatment to decrease the pain and functional disability and can help to reduce work stoppage.