Effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on chronic low back pain with sensitization

Author: 
Nawal Abu Shady, Marwa S. Elsayed, Nasser Elghandour and Ahmed Elshinnawy

Background: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a debilitating condition that persists despite the lack of tissue damage and an effective management is still lacking. CLBP is a multifactorial disorder comprising psychosocial factors like pain catastrophization, fear avoidance and central sensitization. Objectives: to investigate the effect of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy on CLBP patients with Central sensitization. Methods: This randomized clinical study was conducted on thirty patients of both genders having chronic low back pain with central sensitization, their age ranged from 20-37years old. The 30 patients were divided into two groups. The first group received Cognitive Behavioural Therapy comprising of one session neurophysiology education, one biofeedback relaxation session and three sessions comprising functional training exercises. The second group received conventional physiotherapy treatment comprising 12 sessions of TENS and core strengthening exercises over the course of 4 weeks. Results: The results of this study showed a significant improvement in pain intensity according to the NPRS of 30.02% in the CBT group while only 5.82% in the conventional physiotherapy group. Conclusion: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy has a significant effect on chronic low back pain, disability and fear avoidance behavior related to its central sensitivity aspects which are neglected by conventional treatment physiotherapy. Larger studies are required to establish the best feasible treatment protocol.

Paper No: 
2623