Cognitive Functional Therapy Reduces Chronic Back Pain Intensity and Disability

Thursday - May 18 2023, 02:32 UTC - 1 year ago

Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT), a personalized and intensive coaching program developed by Professor Peter O'Sullivan from the Curtin School of Allied Health has been tested to help long-term sufferers of chronic back pain. The study found that this treatment offered relief from pain and disability while saving over $5,000 per person in healthcare and work productivity costs as well as putting the patient at the center of care.

In a study published in The Lancet, Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT) showed significant improvements in chronic back pain sufferers, reducing pain intensity and disability while saving over $5,000 per person in healthcare and work productivity costs.

Long-term sufferers of chronic back pain experienced dramatic reductions in pain and related disability that remained at their one-year follow-up after taking part in a new treatment tested by Curtin-Macquarie-Monash University research. Published today in the leading medical journal The Lancet, the research found large clinically significant improvements in the intensity of pain and pain-related disability among almost 500 people who had been seeking help for their pain for an average of four years before trialing the new treatment.

The treatment, which delivered a healthcare and work productivity saving of more than $5000 per person, took a whole-person approach by also helping people to make lifestyle changes aimed at improving their social and emotional health.

Lead author Associate Professor Peter Kent, from the Curtin School of Allied Health, said the findings produced compelling evidence that the new treatment had a large and lasting impact at a "clinically important" level.

"Lower back pain is the leading cause of disability across the globe, contributing to a loss of work productivity and early retirement worldwide," Associate Professor Kent said.

"These exciting results give hope to the millions of people around the world who are disabled by back pain. It also provides a clear roadmap for clinicians, health services, and policymakers on how to reduce the growing burden of chronic back pain with a high-value, low-risk approach based on the best scientific evidence." .

The treatment, called Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT), offered personalized and intensive coaching sessions that helped people make sense of their pain, focused on retraining them to move in ways that reduced their pain, and built confidence in movements and activities they had been afraid of or were avoiding. The treatment was delivered in 20 clinics across Perth and Sydney by 18 physiotherapists that were specifically trained to deliver CFT.

Participants living with chronic back pain – including many who had high levels of disability – tested the program in up to seven sessions over a 12-week period, followed by a booster session at six months. They were followed up by questionnaires until 12 months. More than 80 percent of the participants were satisfied with the treatment.

Co-author Professor Peter O’Sullivan, also from the Curtin School of Allied Health, who developed the new treatment, said it put the patient at the center of care.

"This new treatment takes on board the individual characteristics of the person who has been living with chronic back pain by addressing their concerns and movement limitations under the skilled guidance of a trained physiotherapist," Professor O’Sullivan said.

"This differs from traditional, more passive approaches – including massage, spinal manipulation, medication, and injections – because it puts the person in charge of their condition, helping them to understand the factors contributing to their pain, building control and confidence in their body to get back to valued activities. It was particular effective for those with lower disability and those with more mental health and fear-related pain behaviours." .