Back pain is extremely common but very few treatments have been proven effective. A new study published in The Lancet indicates that cognitive behavioral therapy can help alleviate chronic low back pain. The researchers randomly assigned 700 people with bothersome low back pain to standard care or to that care plus cognitive behavioral therapy. Those getting this kind of counseling were offered one individual session and then six group sessions. After a year, 60 percent of those who had gotten the counseling had recovered. This compares to 30 percent in the group receiving only ordinary care, such as advice and pain medicine. The investigators judged cognitive behavioral therapy to be one of the few cost-effective treatments for chronic low back pain.
[The Lancet, Feb. 26, 2010]
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