Publications and Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2024
Abstract
Background: Mind-body treatments have the potential to manage pain, yet their effectiveness when delivered online for the treatment of low back pain (LBP) is unknown. We sought to evaluate whether a virtually delivered mind-body program integrating tai chi, qigong, and meditation (VDTQM) is effective for treating LBP.
Methods: This randomized controlled trial compared VDTQM (n=175) to waitlist control (n=175). Eligible participants were at least 18 years old, had LBP for at least 6 weeks, were not pregnant, had not previously taken tai chi classes, and had not undergone spine surgery within 6 months. The treatment group received a 12-week VDTQM program in live online 60-minute twice-weekly group classes from September 2022 to December 2022. All participants continued their usual activities and care. Primary outcome was pain-related disability assessed by the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score. Secondary outcomes included pain intensity, sleep quality, and quality of life (QOL). Intent-to-treat analyses were conducted.
Results: Of the 350 participants 278 (79%) were female, mean age was 58.8 years (range: 21–92), 244 (69.7%) completed the 8-week survey, 248 (70.9%) the 12-week, and 238 (68%) the 16-week. No participants withdrew due to adverse treatment effects. Compared with control group, treatment group experienced statistically and clinically significant improvement in ODI score by −4.7 (95% CI: −6.24 to −3.16, p< .01), −6.42 (95% CI: −7.96 to −4.88, p< .01), and −8.14 (95% CI: −9.68 to −6.59, p< .01) points at weeks 8, 12, and 16, respectively. Treatment group also experienced statistically significant improvement at all time points in the other outcomes.
Conclusions: Among adults with LBP, VDTQM treatment resulted in small to moderate improvements in pain- related disability, pain intensity, sleep quality, and QOL. Improvements persisted 1 month after treatment concluded. These findings suggest VDTQM may be a viable treatment option for patients with LBP.
Comments
This article was originally published in North American Spine Society Journal, available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xnsj.2024.100557
This work is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.