• Dilek Cilingir, Sevilay Hintistan, Cagla Yigitbas, and Nesrin Nural.
• Karadeniz Technical University Trabzon School of Health, Trabzon, Turkey. Electronic address: dilekcilingir1@yahoo.com.
• Pain Manag Nurs. 2014 Jun 1;15(2):449-57.

AbstractLow back pain due to the effects of lumbar disc herniation is a common complaint of patients who often subsequently seek help from medical professionals. It is also a significant health problem which is quite difficult to treat. This descriptive study was conducted to determine nonmedical methods used by patients with lumbar disc herniation to relieve low back pain; the patients' intensity of low back pain when they were admitted to the hospital was also explored. Ninety-two patients with lumbar disc herniation participated in this study, which was carried out at a university hospital in northeastern Turkey. Data were collected using a patient information form and the visual analog scale (VAS). When the patients were admitted to hospital, their mean VAS score was 6.56 ± 2.45. The study results showed that as a first choice nearly all of the patients (94.6%) with lumbar disc herniation preferred consulting with their physicians before to obtain relief for low back pain. However, in addition to seeing their physician, more than one-half of these patients (57.6%) also used nonmedical methods. The primary nonmedical methods were hot/cold compresses, wrapping various substances on the back, and herbal preparations. An increase in pain was noted by 17.0% of patients after using nonmedical methods. Findings indicated that more than two-thirds of patients experienced either no change or an increase in pain after using nonmedical methods to find relief.Copyright © 2014 American Society for Pain Management Nursing. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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