Believe it or not, a new study found psychological treatments can ease low back pain. The results are set to be published in the January issue of Health Psychology.
The report summarized a review of more than 22 clinical trials that researched the effect of various psychological treatments on aspects of chronic low back pain.
Low back pain, especially when chronic, can severly reduce a person's quality of life. Often chronic low back pain is only improved to a certain degree by physical therapy, chiropractic, and massage therapy. Many individuals will become dependant on pain relievers, which also loose effectiveness. It is not uncommon to have overlapping depression in those who suffer from chronic low back pain.
So it seemed natural to assess the efficacy of psychological treatments for chronic low back pain. A variety of treatment modalities were assessed including biofeedback, cognitive-behavioral therapy, hypnosis, and counseling.
Each modality was effective at reducing the severity of low back pain. They also helped the patients cope effectively with pain they do experience, while many reported less of a hinderance on activities of daily living, regardless of pain presence.
Depression and depressive symptoms were also reduced, which was to be expected. Patients reported a better outlook on life, and improved quality of life after psychological treatments.
The authors were pleasantly surprised with their findings, especially evidence that showed psychological treatments (excluding medications) had a direct effect on pain intensity, not just coping skills.
Posted by Dr. Christina Gutierrez on December 28, 2006 05:03 PM
