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

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 John 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-Morris 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
spineandsport/foundation for more
information about the
Foundation.


U.S. Spine & Sport Foundation

spineandsport/foundation