CT is as effective as surgery for chronic back pain!

According to report by Reuters, a study which Dr. Jens Ivar Brox of Norway presented at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology found that CT was as effective as spinal fusion surgery in the treatment of chronic lower back pain.

64 subjects whose back pain had persisted for at least a year were randomly assigned to either lumbar fusion surgery or CT for chronic pain (which involved modifying cognitions and behavior patterns regarding pain and also included specific exercises). According to an independent observer, success rates were 70% following surgery and 76% following CT plus exercise. Disability index ratings improved from 42 to 30 for the CT group and from 41 to 26 for the surgery group. The differences between the groups were not statistically significant.

According to this report, the cost of lumbar fusion surgery averaged $46,000 in the US in 1999, therefore CT plus exercise would appear to be quite cost effective.

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