The effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) on quality of life of women with chronic low back pain

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy [ACT] can enhance psychological flexibility and subsequently improve mental health and quality of life of individuals. The present research aimed to investigate the efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy on the quality of life of women with chronic low back pain in Isfahan. It was a semi-experimental research in pre-test and post-test design together with control group. Participants were 40 women with chronic low back pain attending clinical centers and hospitals of Isfahan who were selected by convenience sampling. Next, they were randomly assigned into control and experimental group. All participants completed the RAND-36 Health Status Inventory in pre-test and post-test stages. Then experimental group received ACT for 8 one-hour sessions. To analyze the data, covariance analysis was used. Results indicated that there was significant increase in quality of life and subscales of mental and physical health thereof, in experimental group (P < 0/001). According to the results, ACT can positively affect quality of life of patients with chronic low back pain and it offers new horizons in clinical interventions.