Antidepressants for non-specific low back pain

Low-back pain is a common condition affecting up to 80% of adults over their lifetime. In the vast majority of cases, low-back pain has no identifiable cause and is termed "non-specific."

However, up to 30% of individuals who report low-back pain go on to have recurrent or persistent symptoms. As a result, low-back pain is one of the most common reasons for medical visits and it results in huge economic losses across developed nations because of reduced productivity, work absence and early retirement.

The review could find no convincing evidence that antidepressants relieve back pain or depression more effectively than placebo. Antidepressants did not result in any other apparent benefits in the treatment of back pain.