Effects of rehabilitation on the patients with chronic low back pain

Abstract

This study was done to observe the effects of rehabilitation on chronic low back pain on 139 patient. They were divided into two groups:  a) One group (n=71) received naproxen (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, NSAID) with selective rehabilitation and b) another group (n= 68) treated with NSAID only. The patients were followed up weekly for eight weeks. The improvement was found in both groups after treatment. In patients with rehabilitation, the pre-treatment and post-treatment mean scores (Oswastry Disability Index, Visual Analogue Scale and Modified Zung Index) were 34.3 ± 9.8 and 9.9 ± 8.0 respectively (p<0.001). Treatment with NSAID only reduced the mean scores from 34.9 ± 13.5 to 16.0 ± 14.4 (p<0.001) after treatment. There was no significant difference in clinical improvement between the groups in pre-treatment compare with week one, rehabilitation group (29.7 ± 8.7) vs NSAID group (31.5 ± 13.8). While significant improvement was found in rehabilitation group in comparison to NSAID group after 8th week, rehabilitation group vs NSAID group scores were 10.0 ± 7.9 vs 15.9 ± 14.5 respectively (p= 0.004). In conclusion, rehabilitation can be used as an adjunct to NSAID for better improvement.