Fusion versus Physical Therapy in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain

My wife Amy sent me the following press release even before I came across the published papers in the most recent issue of the BMJ (and I am fairly astute at accessing information quickly). This reminds me that the information gap is quickly closing, empowering patients with timely information that may help them make informed decisions about possible treatment options before ever visiting a healthcare professional! If it hasn't happened to you yet, be prepared. Lest you keep up with current evidence, you will find yourself explaining to the patient sitting in front of you why you have no idea what the patient is talking about!

The overall results of the these 2 papers are quite favorable. Clinical outcomes between surgery and intensive rehab are similar, but the costs are not surprisingly much higher in the surgery group. This is one of those large trials that will receive much press over the next several weeks. More to come, but the overall results are quite favorable for physical therapy practice.

John

Download surg_stab_clinical_outcomes_bmj_2005.pdf

Download surg_stab_cost_bmj_2005.pdf

 

Comments

[Elaine Lonnemann]

Thank you John for the posting on the rehab vs surgery papers. For those interested in sharing this information with your friends, family and patients--this link to CNN.com refers to the study.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/05/23/back.surgery.reut/index.html

Kind regards,
Elaine