Efficiency and Costs of Medical Exercise Therapy, Conventional Physiotherapy, and Self-Exercise in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain

Abstract

The efficiency of medical exercise therapy and conventional physiotherapy is shown. Leaving patients with chronic low back pain untampered poses a risk of worsening the disability, resulting in longer periods of sick leave.

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“…Injured workers who stopped exercising after a back injury had longer periods of disability than those who remained more physically active (34). Medical exercise therapy and conventional physical therapy reduce the cost of low back pain, even in chronic cases (35). However, intensive multidisciplinary treatment is not necessarily more effective than a less intensive exercise program (36).…”

The effectiveness of walking as an intervention for low back pain: a systematic review

“…While all scored reasonably well in the bias and reporting aspects, measurement and reporting of confounding showed considerable variability. The highest ranked study [55] found that walking did not have a statistically significant affect on LBP, while conversely the three lowest ranked studies [25,36,54] found walking combined with traction had a positive effect.…”

“…Two RCT's [36,55], one case-control [54] and one cohort study [25] were found. While three laboratory-based studies used a treadmill [25,36,54], only one study evaluated walking in free living [55].…”

“…While three laboratory-based studies used a treadmill [25,36,54], only one study evaluated walking in free living [55]. One reported the effect of walking on acute LBP [54], two reported on chronic LBP [36,55] and one reported on mixed sample of LBP participants [25]. Sample sizes ranged from 11 to 208.…”

“…Sample sizes ranged from 11 to 208. Two studies used treadmill walking as an adjunct to traction [25,36], one used increased walking speed on a treadmill [55] and the last used free-living walking as one of three interventions [55]. Three trials used the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to assess pain, while the other used the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI).…”