Low-Level Heat Wrap Therapy Can Significantly Reduce Acute Low Back Pain, Study

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Low-Level Heat Wrap Therapy Can Significantly Reduce Acute Low Back

Pain, Study

11 May 2005 Medical News Today

A new study released today supports that continuous low-level heat

wrap therapy (CLHT) can significantly reduce acute low back pain and

improve functional outcomes in patients who use CLHT with exercise as

compared to those who do not. The results of the study were presented

today at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the International Society for the

Study of the Lumbar Spine.

Restorative exercise and physical therapy are common modalities for

treating acute low back pain. But little is known about the additive

effects of a combination treatment of palliative processes such as

CLHT with exercise in acute low back pain. However, earlier clinical

studies have shown that CLHT can reduce muscle and joint pain better

than the oral analgesics, acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

" This is the first time we found that subjects who exercised with

CLHT had 70% less lower back pain, 139% greater reduction in

disability and 95% improvement in functional ability as compared to

subjects who exercised without CLHT., " said Mayer, Ph.D.,

Director of Research at U.S. Spine & Sport Foundation. " Simply

wearing a portable heat wrap in conjunction with exercise cut pain

and disability approximately in half. "

About the Study

In the study one hundred patients (age 31.2+/-10.6 years) with non-

specific low back pain of less than three months duration were

randomized to one of four groups: CLHT alone (ThermaCare Heatwraps,

n=25); directional preference-based exercise alone (Exercise, n=25);

combination of CLHT and exercise (CLHT+Exer, n=24); or control

(Instructional Booklet, n=26). Treatment was administered for five

consecutive days and included four visits to the study center over

one week. Outcome measures were functional ability assessed by the

Multidimensional Task Ability Profile, disability assessed by the

Roland- Disability Questionnaire, and pain relief assessed by a

6- point verbal rating scale.

About US Spine and Sport Foundation

U.S. Spine & Sport Foundation is a non-profit research and education

organization that was founded in 1994 by Vert Mooney, M.D., a world-

renowned orthopedic surgeon. The Foundation is dedicated to conduct

clinical research to: 1) Assess products, services, and interventions

that have the potential to enhance musculoskeletal function, expedite

recovery from injury, or prevent functional loss, and 2) Develop and

assess novel measurement systems for musculoskeletal function.

Please visit http://www.spineandsport.com/foundation for more

information about the Foundation.