Effective Conservative Treatment for Chronic Low Back Pain

Evidence suggests that effective conservative treatment is available for chronic low back pain (LBP). The effectiveness of conservative treatment has received attention following publication of several randomized controlled trials that reported similar improvements in outcomes from cognitive intervention with exercise as from spinal fusion surgery. This paper explores the conservative treatment arms of these randomized controlled trials with the goal of educating the reader about the principles of cognitive intervention with exercise. These principles can be incorporated into the care of chronic LBP patients both as primary treatment and as a means of augmenting surgical outcomes.