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Lower-back Pain

Journal Article

Medical Care Spending and Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from Workers' Compensation Reforms

Following workers' compensation reforms in California, workers with low back injuries received less medical care, leading to an 8% drop in post-injury earnings relative to other injured workers. These results suggest that medical spending can impact health and that health affects labor outcomes.

May 2, 2018
Journal Article

Journal Article

Cognitive and Mind-Body Therapies for Chronic Low Back Pain and Neck Pain: Effectiveness and Value

A recent Institute for Clinical and Economic Review provides evidence that some cognitive and mind-body therapies are effective for chronic low back pain and also cost-effective.

Apr 18, 2018
Journal Article

Manipulation and Mobilization for Treating Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Moderate-quality evidence suggests that manipulation and mobilization are likely to reduce pain and improve function for patients with chronic low back pain; manipulation appears to have the larger effect.

Mar 2, 2018
Report

Are Advanced Prosthetics Worth the Costs?

Prosthetic knees and feet allow for more-dynamic movements and improve user quality of life, but payers have recently started questioning their value for money. A simulation model can assess the clinical outcomes and costs of microprocessor-controlled knees compared with more traditional ones.

Sep 5, 2017
Periodical

Periodical

RAND Review: September-October 2017

This issue highlights recent RAND research on North Korea; RAND's future workspace pilot project; and insights on the post--Arab Spring experience in the Middle East.

Aug 24, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Yoga, Physical Therapy, or Education for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Randomized Noninferiority Trial

A structured yoga program for patients with chronic lower back pain may be a reasonable alternative to physical therapy, depending on patient preferences, availability, and cost.

Aug 2, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

Association of Spinal Manipulative Therapy With Clinical Benefit and Harm for Acute Low Back Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

The use of spinal manipulative therapy to treat acute lower back pain was associated with modest improvement in pain and function in this systematic meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

May 19, 2017
News Release

News Release

Cost Savings Possible from Reducing Use of Low-Value Health Services

The first national study to examine spending on a wide array of low-value health services among adults with commercial health insurance finds that while use of such services is modest, there is considerable potential for cost savings.

Aug 29, 2016
Journal Article

Journal Article

Assessment of Chiropractic Treatment for Active Duty, U.S. Military Personnel with Low Back Pain: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

This pragmatic comparative effectiveness trial will enroll 750 active duty service members with low back pain at three military treatment facilities within the United States

Feb 18, 2016
Journal Article

Journal Article

Out-of-pocket Expenditures on Complementary Health Approaches Associated with Painful Health Conditions in a Nationally Representative Adult Sample

National surveys suggest that millions of adults in the United States use complementary health approaches such as acupuncture, chiropractic manipulation, and herbal medicines to manage painful conditions such as arthritis, back pain and fibromyalgia.

Sep 14, 2015
Journal Article

Journal Article

Comparison of Complementary and Alternative Medicine with Conventional Mind–body Therapies for Chronic Back Pain: Protocol for the Mind–body Approaches to Pain (MAP) Randomized Controlled Trial

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which addresses psychosocial factors, has been found to be effective for back pain, but access to qualified therapists is limited. Another treatment option with potential for addressing psychosocial issues, mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), is increasingly available.

Jun 1, 2014
Journal Article

Journal Article

Yoga Vs. Physical Therapy Vs. Education for Chronic Low Back Pain in Predominantly Minority Populations: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

Several randomized controlled trials show yoga is an effective treatment. However, the comparative effectiveness of yoga and physical therapy, a common mainstream treatment for chronic low back pain, is unknown.

Feb 1, 2014
Journal Article

Patients with Multiple Health Conditions Have Lower Health-Related Quality of Life

Patients with multi-morbid diabetes, arthritis, neurological, or long-term mental health problems have significantly lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) than other people. The associations of physical health with HRQoL were stronger in the presence of long-term mental health problems.

Jan 1, 2014
Journal Article

Journal Article

Treating Low Back Pain

Prediction rules have yet to be published for the interventions listed as brief pain-management programmes, but there is evidence that some tools are useful in detecting psychosocial aspects of low back pain and are predictive of poor outcomes.

Jan 1, 2005
Journal Article

Journal Article

Spinal Manipulative Therapy for Low Back Pain: A Meta-Analysis of Effectiveness Relative to Other Therapies

There is no evidence that spinal manipulative therapy is superior to other standard treatments for patients with acute or chronic low back pain.

Jan 1, 2003