Latest research has brought to light the necessity to customize treatments for backaches based on the intensity of the ache. As of now, the treatment provided is common for all patients. According to statistics, 9% adult citizens in the United Kingdom visit doctors for backache treatments. The trend follows all over the world. In the recent times, cases of backaches have increased substantially when compared to a decade ago. The present way of treatment that doctors adopt is not proving very effective because more than 80% of people come back to their doctors with the same problem within a year. The pain either remains constant or reduces only to increase again. Some of the most common therapies that are used to treat backache are cognitive behavioral therapy, physiotherapy and special exercise regime.
However, although the benefits gained by various therapies have been studies, no studies have been made to recognize the best treatment for specific kinds of back pains. In other words, treatment prescribed does not take the cause and category of back ache under condition and the treatment provided for different kinds of back ache is the same. The study was carried out by researchers from the Arthritis Research UK Primary Care Center of Keele University in the United K. The study was focused on comparing various back ache therapies and finding out the best treatments for specific aches. The study also brought to light the fact that customized back ache treatments are also more cost effective than common treatments. The study has suggested a stratified approach for treatment.
For the study, 851 back pain patients were considered between the 2007 June and 2008 November, which is a period of six months. These adults were given questionnaires to fill, based on which, they were divided into risk groups of low, medium and high. Each of these groups was provided customized treatment depending on the intensity and cause of pain. 568 patients formed the experiment group and 283 patients formed the group that received currently available treatments. Low risk group adults were prescribed exercises along with one session of consultation each week. They were also provided counseling on carrying out daily routine activities regarding professional and personal lives. Medium risk group were prescribed physiotherapy. For high risk patients, it was a combination of psychological counseling and physiotherapy. Results were analyzed for the period of a year. It was found that people who received stratified treatment were a much more relieved lot than the others. Expenditure was also lower for people in the stratified group.