Chronic back pain is defined as pain, muscle tension, or stiffness throughout the spine that continues for at least three months. This can develop from acute pain and requires evaluation from a medical professional to determine the cause. It is important to talk to a medical professional because of the many different possible factors that could be leading to your chronic back pain. Patients, in order to figure out the cause can be evaluated on pain levels, physical functioning, emotional functioning, coping strategies and health care utilization.
Are you feeling these symptoms? ~If so, please read on to see what could help you!
Background
Chronic back pain effects approximately 8-10% of the general population which can lead to increased medication use, and decreased mobility while increasing their risk for depression and the number of sick days used by patients. There are many different treatment programs for chronic back pain including exercise, physical therapy, cognitive behavior therapy and more.
Top Notch Treatment!
There are many different interventions that can be used to treat chronic back pain but the best intervention is actually including two of the interventions together for the best results; for the highest success it is best to use exercise and cognitive behavioral therapy together in a treatment program. This is significant for treating back pain because neuropathic, psychological and functionality components all need to be targeted during treatment.
These interventions were studied on multiple occasions and took patient feedback and assessments to evaluate whether there were changes, good, bad, or none, in patient improvement or decrease in symptoms. As the studies were conducted they continued to have positive outcomes that showed significant results:
- improving chronic back pain suffering
- reducing medication intake
- reducing the amount of visits to their physicians
- reducing their level of disability.
Overall, the patients involved in the intervention groups within these studies were found to have long term improvement and an overall better quality of life.
Clinicians can use these interventions in their practice by implementing a treatment program for specific patients that includes cognitive behavior therapy and physical therapy combined. It is important to personalize their treatment plan based on their symptoms and daily functionality as well as their level of pain and discomfort. Clinicians should also use exercise programs and cognitive behavioral therapy protocols that have been adopted and approved by the health field.
Isn't it crazy that all of these components have a factor in chronic back pain? Here are some other resources if you need more information!
https://www.aafp.org/afp/2011/0815/p437.html
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/16869-chronic-back-pain
Julianna McGovern is a student at Westfield State University in the Movement Science, Sport and Leisure Studies Department. She aspires to continue her education within an accredited Masters in Business program with a concentration in Health Administration. She looks forward to helping others from behind the curtain and embracing the need for administrators in the medical field.
She can be reached at juliannaluciamcgovern@gmail.com or at
References:
Glombiewski J, Hartwich-Tersek J, & Rief W. (2010). Two psychological interventions are effective in severely disabled, chronic back pain patients: a randomised controlled trial. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 17(2), 97–107. https://doiorg.scroll.lib.westfield.ma.edu/10. 1007/s12529-009-9070-
Linden, M., Scherbe, S., & Cicholas, B. (2014). Randomized controlled trial on the effectiveness of cognitive behavior group therapy in chronic back pain patients. Journal of Back & Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation, 27(4), 563–568. https://doiorg.scroll.lib.westfield.ma.edu/10
Khan, S., Shamsi, S., Alyaemni, A. A. A., & Abdelkader, S. (2013). Effect of Ultrasound and Exercise Combined and Exercise alone in the Treatment of Chronic Back Pain. Indian Journal of Physiotherapy & Occupational Therapy, 7(2), 197–201. https://doiorg.scroll.lib.westfield.ma.edu/ 10.5958/j.0973-5674.7.2.041
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