What Therapies Are Chronic Low Back Pain Patients Using?

In this study, the prevalence of used therapies, their perceived effectiveness, and patient-provider communication were all evaluated in patients with chronic low back pain. The study included 499 patients who saw 45 primary care physicians (PCPs) between Nov. 1, 2015, and May 31, 2016. All participants filled out a survey on lifetime use and usefulness of 30 different therapies. The most common therapies patients reported using at least once were physiotherapy (81.8%), osteopathic treatment (63.4%), exercise therapy (53.4%), opioids (52.5%), and therapeutic massage (50.8%). Their PCPs reported physiotherapy, osteopathic treatment, yoga, meditation, and manual therapy as the most useful. Physiotherapy use and exercise therapy were significantly associated with longer pain duration, and exercise therapy was also associated with non-smoking. Osteopathic treatment was most common among patients who were aged < 75 years, were female, had a higher education, and had complementary medicine (CM) insurance coverage. Smokers had a higher rate of opioid use, while patients of PCPs with CM training were less likely to have used opioids. Most patients (86.6%) used at least one CM therapy, of whom 64.7% said they discussed it with their PCP. Nearly half (46.1%) of patients said that their PCPs did not ask about CM use.

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