BACKGROUND: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic produced substantial changes in the organization of the national health systems. The creation of emergency units dedicated to COVID-19 patients led to a reduction in the resource usage for "clean" emergency rooms. One of the most frequent non-surgical causes of access to the orthopedic emergency room is represented by acute low back pain. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the role of semi-rigid corset in the treatment of patients with acute low back pain in terms of pain relief, number of control visit and duration of symptoms during COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the institutional databases of low back pain patients was conducted. A total of 127 patients were enrolled in the study. Two groups of patients were obtained based on received treatment (group A: medical therapy;group B: medical therapy and semi-rigid corset) The primary outcome was to evaluate the clinical symptoms and the degree of disability at the end of the treatment. RESULTS: The treatment used in group B produced greater benefits in terms of pain improvement and disability compared to the group A. The overall satisfaction rate was much higher in the group B than group A. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a semi-rigid corset with pharmacological treatment can improve the outcome of acute low back pain compared to pharmacological treatment only. This home therapy option combined with telemedicine follow up allow to minimize the interaction between patients and healthcare workers with an important impact on the spread of the virus.
The importance of telemedicine and home therapy during COVID-19 pandemic: the role of semirigid corset in acute low back pain