Cognitive behavioral therapy may prove to be as beneficial to people suffering from chronic lower back pain, as physical therapy. This has been revealed by a Dutch study. The same amount of physical relief has been reported by patients who underwent these two therapies, when compared to those who did not undergo any treatment at all. A combination of both the treatments did not produce any additional benefits by way of relief.

Dr. Rob Smeets of the Netherlands based Rehabilitation Center Blixembosch has revealed that relief from the pain can be obtained from either cognitive behavioral training or through physical training. Cognitive behavioral treatment can be the chosen treatment when people are either moderately or severely disabled by the condition, according to him. Back pain is an extremely common ailment, but it is called chronic if it were to last for over three months.

The research involved 212 people suffering from low back pain, and they were assigned to groups like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), active physical therapy (APT), a combination of both, or no treatment. The study extended over 10 weeks, after which the participants were called upon to fill up questionnaires with regard to their physical and psychological functioning.