[Specific of pharmacotherapy management in back pain among the elderly]

Abstract

Back pain is one of the main reasons for physical disability among the elderly. The most frequent cause of the pain among this group is the degenerative disease. The larger part in causes of low back pain among the elderly has metabolic (osteoporosis) and neoplastic diseases. Pharmacological treatment of the back pain requires to take into consideration its etiology, course, specific biological features of the organism ageing, pain chronification features and extrasomatic influences. Environmental influences and additional diseases are not insignificant as well. The aforementioned factors determine limitations in using painkillers. The limitations concern quality area (e.g. medicine group, chosen pharmaceutical agents, way of medicine administration) and quantity area (e.g. drug dosage, time of application). The specified differences in etiology, course of low back pain and drug absorption and excretion among the elderly are not sufficiently taken into consideration. It becomes the cause of side effects of the used drugs, lack of treatment efficiency and as a result deterioration of life quality. To improve efficiency in low back pain treatment, the authors reviewed the literature and presented their own opinions on using different groups of drugs and limits of pharmacotherapy among the elderly.