Physical therapy improves acute lower back pain outcomes compared to usual medical care

Does adding physical therapy improve Low Back Pain outcomes compared to usual medical care?

In this study, the authors aim to compare costs and cost-effectiveness of usual primary care management for patients with acute low back pain with or without the addition of early physical therapy.

For patients with acute, nonspecific low back pain, the results support early physical therapy as cost-effective relative to usual primary care after 1 year.

Reference

Fritz JM, et al., Cost-effectiveness of primary care management with or without early physical therapy for acute low back pain: Economic evaluations of a randomized clinical trial. Spine, 3/03/2017