If you have chronic or subacute low back pain, what do you do to cope with it?
A recent study from England looked at 700 people with back pain lasting longer than about a week (subacute and chronic back pain patients). They gave approximately half of the patients an assessment and advice on what to do, or "standard treatment". The other half received cognitive behavior therapy. CBT is a short term therapy that helps people identify the things that trigger their pain, and to take actionable steps to manage them.
The researchers found that after a year, not only did the CBT help reduce the peoples' pain, but it did so at a low cost.
About.com's Depression Guide, Nancy Schimelpfening, has a great intro article on cognitive behavior therapy.
Source:
Lamb, S.E. et al. Group cognitive behavioural treatment for low-back pain in primary care: a randomised controlled trial and cost-effectiveness analysis. The Lancet, Early Online Publication, 26 February 2010
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