Comparing the effects of exercise therapy and self treatment through

Although various treatment methods have been applied to low back pain, there is no general consensus on the most effective treatment. The aim of present research was to compare the effects of exercise therapy and self treatment provided through The Back Book on pain and disability in patients with chronic low back pain. The statistical sample consisted of 29 patients with chronic low back pain of at least 3 months’ duration. Patients were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: exercise therapy (n=17) and self treatment through The Back Book (n=12). Disability was evaluated using Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire (ODQ) and pain intensity was evaluated via the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Treatment programs lasted 6 weeks for both groups. Independent and pair t-test were used for statistical analysis of data (p≤0.05). Research findings showed that there were significant differences in the pain levels (p<0.001) and functional disability (p=0.001) of exercise therapy group but, there were not any significant changes in self-treatment group (p>0.05) with respect to these two variables. When two groups compared, levels of pain and functional disability were found to be statistically significant. The findings of this study revealed that exercise therapy is more effective than self treatment through "The Back Book" for the purpose of disability improvement and pain relief in patients. Finally this study indicated that exercise therapy can be an effective method in managing patients with chronic low back pain.