MSGID: 1:317/3 640177e9   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Fledgling chronic back pain therapy needs more rigorous study    
      
     Date:   
         March 2, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of New South Wales   
     Summary:   
         Cognitive Functional Therapy treats chronic back pain as part of   
         a person's entire pain experience, but more research is needed to   
         assess its effectiveness.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A systematic review of relatively new treatment for chronic back pain -   
   - Cognitive Functional Therapy -- has found that it is no better than   
   traditional therapies based on evidence from past studies.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Leading the review was Mr Jack Devonshire, a PhD candidate with UNSW   
   Sydney and Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA). He looked at studies   
   of Cognitive Functional Therapy (CFT) as a treatment for chronic back pain   
   which, for the purposes of his research, was defined as pain experienced   
   continuously for three months or more in the region between the 12th   
   rib and the crease of the buttocks.   
      
   CFT has been growing in popularity and gaining attention among   
   practitioners since the first clinical trial in 2013 based on theory   
   developed in 2005. There have been multiple trials across the world on   
   CFT since, says Mr Devonshire.   
      
   "CFT integrates treatments that may be helpful in managing chronic lower   
   back pain, such as pain education, exercise, and lifestyle coaching,   
   into a model of care informed by a contemporary understanding of a   
   person's entire pain experience," he says.   
      
   "The therapy aims to build upon the biopsychosocial model to provide   
   health professionals with what we call a clear 'clinical reasoning   
   framework' to tailor strategies to manage this chronic condition."   
   Global interest in CFT Despite the therapy being integrated into   
   healthcare systems in the UK and Finland, as well as having multiple   
   training courses online for clinicians, there hasn't yet been a   
   comprehensive analysis of research into this therapy.   
      
   "So we decided to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis,   
   the highest level of evidence, to look at past studies to find out   
   how effective the treatment is on pain, disability and safety," Mr   
   Devonshire says.   
      
   After examining all the studies that fit the research criteria, Mr   
   Devonshire and his fellow authors found that ultimately the effectiveness   
   of CFT remains unknown at this stage, and the group calls for future   
   trials featuring blinded participants -- those who are unaware whether   
   the therapy being administered is actual or sham -- and studies that   
   recruit larger sample sizes.   
      
   "The results of our study found that CFT may not reduce pain intensity   
   and disability in people with chronic low back pain, compared to manual   
   therapy and core exercises, either at the end of treatment or at the   
   12-month follow-up," Mr Devonshire says.   
      
   "This is important as we want our exercise physiologists, physios and   
   other health professionals who manage people with low back pain to be   
   armed with the best available information on the available effective   
   treatments -- especially since learning to deliver CFT as a therapist   
   is quite intensive, taking an average 106 hours of training to properly   
   deliver the treatment."  The researchers otherwise found that no adverse   
   events were reported among patients after receiving the CFT treatment.   
      
   Mr Devonshire notes that certainty in the researchers' systematic review   
   was limited by differences between study controls, small sample sizes   
   and a high risk of bias across all included studies, impacting the   
   trustworthiness of the findings from these studies. The group looks   
   forward to further research that improves current evidence via clinical   
   trials on CFT.   
      
   The review was published recently in the Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports   
   Physical Therapy.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Pain_Control # Back_and_Neck_Pain # Workplace_Health   
                   # Medical_Topics   
             o Mind_&_Brain   
                   # Caregiving # Behavior # Mental_Health # Depression   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Back_pain o Chronic_pain o Anesthesia o Pain o Suicide o   
             Gate_control_theory_of_pain o Nociceptor o Opioid_drug   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by   
   University_of_New_South_Wales. Original written by Lachlan Gilbert. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Jack J Devonshire, Michael A Wewege, Harrison J Hansford, Hasibe A   
         Odemis, Benedict M Wand, Matthew D Jones, James H   
         McAuley. Effectiveness of cognitive functional therapy for reducing   
         pain and disability in chronic low back pain: a systematic review   
         and meta-analysis. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy,   
         2023; 1 DOI: 10.2519/ jospt.2023.11447   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230302093411.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 3 days, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 226/30 227/114 229/111   
   SEEN-BY: 229/112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 292/854 298/25   
   SEEN-BY: 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426