ACPIC24: Paramedic management of back pain in a large Australian ambulance service

Australasian College of Paramedicine International Conference (ACPIC24)

ACPIC 2024 delivered a wide range of clinical and research sessions from experts and leaders in paramedicine. Hosted in Sydney (September 2024) the program was designed to inspire, educate and broaden horizons.

Conference theme: Paramedicine's evolution – Embracing the new era

Paramedic management of back pain in a large Australian ambulance service

Back pain leads people to seek healthcare from paramedics, yet the management approaches by providers of ambulance services remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate paramedic management of back pain in NSW, Australia. We performed a retrospective analysis of computer-aided dispatch and electronic medical records of adults who sought care for a complaint of back pain, triaged as non-traumatic back pain and received treatment by paramedics. Back pain makes up 1.4% of the total ambulance service caseload in NSW. Common management strategies include transport to hospital and pharmacology. There is limited reporting of non-pharmacological care and alternate referral pathways.

Biography: Dr Simon Vella

Simon is a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and also works in clinical practice as a chiropractor. Simon's research focuses on the management of back pain in prehospital and emergency health care settings. In the prehospital setting, Simon's research has explored ambulance service guidelines for back pain, ambulance service and paramedic management of back pain including alternate referral pathways, and paramedic perceptions toward the management of people with back pain. Simon has a keen interest in bridging community and emergency health services to manage people with non-serious back pain.

Moderator: Dr Nigel Barr, ACPIC24 Organising Committee Member