Group therapy improves back pain

Group cognitive behavioural therapy can be a low cost way to reduce lower back pain, new research has found.

A study published in today's Lancet found that patients who took part in six sessions of group therapy not only reported an improvement to their lower back pain, but the effect lasted a year later.

In the study, 701 patients with subacute and chronic low back pain were treated with either six sessions of group CBT or standard back pain treatment consisting of pain medication and advice on staying active, and were tracked for one year.

The one and a half hour CBT sessions were designed to counter negative attitudes about back pain and physical activity as well as teaching relaxation methods.

After the year, the patients who took part in the CBT sessions scored significantly better on questionnaires designed to measure pain and disability.

The treatment was also relatively inexpensive compared with others such as acupuncture, said the researchers, which is important given the large numbers of people in the UK who suffer from low back pain.

Professor Sarah Lamb from the University of Warwick said: "Effective treatments that result in sustained improvements in low-back pain are elusive.

"This trial shows that a bespoke cognitive behavioural intervention package, BeST, is effective in managing subacute and chronic low-back pain in primary care.

"The short-term effects are similar to those seen in high-quality studies and systematic reviews of manipulation, exercise, acupuncture, and postural approaches in primary care."

In an accompanying article in the Lancet, Dr Laxmaiah Manchikanti, from the Pain Management Center Paducah, Kentucky, said the study "showed rather impressive results."

"The results suggest that cognitive behavioural therapy is an excellent option for primary care physicians before they seek specialty consultations for their patients," he added.

This article was published on Fri 26 February 2010