For people suffering from lower back pain, a new study found that getting physical therapy may not be any more effective in the long run than taking it slow.

Physical therapy may be able to help lower back pain right away, but researchers from the University of Utah found that taking time and not jumping into therapies too quickly can be just as effective.

Studies have proven that early, aggressive treatment of lower back pain is expensive and may not be of any help to patients. This study, published in the Journal of American Medical Association aimed to explore the impact of early use of physical therapy for these patients.

"Guidelines (for treating lower back pain) recommend delaying referrals for physical therapy," said Julie Fritz, a co-author of the study and Associate Dean for Research in the University of Utah College of Health.

She wrote in the study that their goal was to evaluate whether patients with lower back pain can benefit more if they had early physical therapy for their condition.

Researchers assessed 220 volunteers with lower back pain and divided them into two groups. Both groups received health teaching on lower back pain but only one group received four physical therapy sessions. After three months, return check-ups found that those from the group who received physical therapy had moderate improvement in performing daily tasks but the level of pain for both groups remained the same.

One year later, the difference in pain and quality of living between the groups was considered clinically insignificant by researchers.

Not to say that physical therapy does not have its benefits, Fritz said. In fact, therapy helped patients get better a little quicker. However, in the long run, the impact is not as much as expected.

"The average amount of improvement over 100 patients was small," Fritz pointed out. "The difference between the improvement that comes with time and the improvement that comes with therapy is not a huge difference."

In conclusion, researchers believe that letting lower back pain run its course can work for patients without needing additional therapy. Most cases of back pain fade on their own in time, mainly because there is nothing permanently wrong with patients.

What is challenging in managing lower back pain however is that there are patients who may re-exacerbate their back pain just when they thought the symptom has passed.

Experts also caution that lower back pain can also be a symptom of other conditions like kidney disease.

"Chronic back pain is a very complex problem influenced by many psychological, social and medical factors," said Edward Michna from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

The best way to deal with back pain, according to experts, is to exercise and have an active lifestyle.

Photo: Roger Mommaerts | Flickr