Project Title: Does Physical Therapy Improve Long Term Outcomes in Chronic Back Pain?
Authors: Bryce Galbraith, DO, PGY3
Program: St. Anthony North Family Medicine Residency
Abstract: Patients often get referred to physical therapy for chronic (greater than six weeks) low back pain. The purpose of my research was to determine if it is worth doing physical therapy for patients with chronic low back pain or if conservative treatment is as effective. Multiple studies were reviewed and showed that after one year of the onset of treatment that the difference between groups that received physical therapy and those that had conservative treatment were ultimately the same, however the studies also show that after four weeks of physical therapy that the physical therapy groups do much better. Ultimately most people that develop low back pain do eventually get better regardless of how they are treated, this could be a reason why there really is not a significant difference over longer periods of time between these groups.
Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to… • Determine if physical therapy is worth doing for patients in the long run. • Does physical therapy help with short term results in patients with chronic low back pain • is there any other benefits to physical therapy in chronic low back pain patients?
Category: sports medicine