Multidisciplinary treatment of chronic pain: long-term follow-up of low-back pain patients.
Thirty-six patients with low-back pain who had been treated in our multidisciplinary pain center returned for 80-week follow-up evaluations by the staff pscyhologist, physiatrist and physical therapist. Statistically significant gains were maintained in the reduction of prescription analgesics and on 4 measures of physical functioning: (a) long-sittimg-to-toe; (b) straight-leg-raise; (c) knee-to-chest; and (d) overall exercise performance. Despite verbal reports of continuing pain, most patients claimed they were coping much better with it, and they displayed a marked reduction in their utilization of medical resources for further pain treatment. These long-term results suggest that a multidisciplinary approach can offer an effective means of treating chronic low-back pain.
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001416:Back Pain / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D009922:Oregon