CBT beneficial for lower-back pain

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help treat primary care patients with chronic lower-back pain, new research from the University of Warwick suggests.

The study, published in the medical journal Lancet, found that CBT intervention over the space of a year was effective at easing troublesome back pain.

A form of psychotherapy, CBT aims to solve emotional and behavioural problems through goal-orientated thought processes.

Grahame Pope, associate professor and head of physiotherapy education at the University of Nottingham, said that the availability of CBT in primary health care should be increased across the country.

He commented: "CBT is becoming more widely used because it provides the patient with access to a multi-provisional team who obviously pool all their skills and knowledge, allowing patients to manage their condition."

The prevalence of chronic, impairing lower-back pain rose significantly from 3.9 per cent in 1992 to 10.2 per cent in 2006, according to figures from the Archives of Internal Medicine.

CBT is often prescribed as a treatment for mental health problems such as depression and anxiety disorders.

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