TeleBACK Clinical Trial
Telerehabilitation for Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain
Low back pain (LBP) is a nearly universal human experience with 80% of adults having at least one episode in their lifetime and 25% of adults reporting LBP lasting at least 1 day in the past 3 months. Not only is LBP exceedingly common, but it can be very burdensome. Physical therapy (PT) has been found to be effective in reducing pain and disability related to LBP and as such, is recommended as the first line of treatment for LBP. The COVID-19 pandemic has facilitated the rapid emergence of remotely-delivered PT (i.e., telerehabilitation).
Studies have shown that providing timely access to PT leads to significant decreases in pain and disability compared to usual care and has been associated with decreased odds of receiving advanced imaging, injection, surgery, or opioids over the next year.
TeleBACK compares the effectiveness of telerehabilitation and in-clinic PT for patients with chronic LBP. We propose to enroll 1,000 patients with chronic LBP at one of three health systems in Baltimore and Utah. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive an 8-session evidence-based PT treatment delivered via in-person or telehealth visits and will be followed for 12 months. Results will provide important information for patients, clinicians, physical therapists, and payers to make informed decisions about optimizing delivery of evidence-based physical therapy to improve quality of life in patients with chronic LBP.