Is self-care enough to combat low-back pain?

While patients with low-back pain can do a lot on their own to minimize pain, receiving active treatment will likely enhance their outcomes according to new research.

A recent study from Finland compared two active treatment methods with self-care. Participants were employees who had been experiencing mild low-back pain for  over two weeks or even a year. Employees were divided into three groups: those that participated in an intensive, multidisciplinary rehabilitation program; those that were involved in an exercise program with regular visits to physiotherapists;  and those that received educational materials on back pain with advice to stay active and conduct self-care.

Participants who engaged in the two active treatments saw markedly better results than patients who only practiced self-care. Those in the exercise program experienced improvements in quality of life and pain, although they did not see significant changes in physical impairment. For the outpatient rehabilitation group, patients had a reduction in pain and significantly less sick days over the four year study. However, rehabilitation participants did not experience significant changes in quality of life and physical impairment.

These mixed results prompted researchers to conclude that more research is needed in order to conclusively say which active treatment method is better. Still, it is clear that both active treatment methods were more effective than simple self-care for the participants with low-back pain.

Reference

Rantonen, J,  S Luoto, A Vehtari;,M Hupli,J Karppinen, A Malmivaara, and S Taimela. The Effectiveness of Two Active Interventions Compared to Self-care Advice in Employees With Non-acute Low Back Symptoms A Randomised, Controlled Trial With a 4-year Follow-up in the Occupational Health Setting. Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2012; 69(1): 12-20.