Health Update: A pain in the back

WOMEN who have epidurals during labour run a higher risk of suffering long-term backache than those who have other painkillers or none at all, according to researchers at St Thomas's Hospital, London. They found that almost 18 per cent of women who had an epidural developed backache, compared with just under 12 per cent of those who did not. The research, reported in the British Medical Journal, showed that pain was not severe in either group.