Chinese scholars prove that water sports can effectively reduce low back pain

This article is from the NEJM Journal Watch (NEJM Journal Watch) Aquatic Exercise for Chronic Back Pain Review of Effective Treatment of Chronic Low Back Pain with Aquatic Exercise by Thomas L.
Schwenk, MD Aquatic exercise is superior to conventional physical therapy for several indicators of pain and function
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In the ongoing search for a cure for chronic low back pain (LBP), Chinese researchers examined 113 adults (age range, 18-65 years; mean age) with moderate to severe chronic low back pain (mean duration of illness, 13 months).
, 31) conducted a single-blind randomized trial comparing supervised water sports with conventional physical therapy
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Participants were randomly divided into two groups, one group received supervised water sports, and the other group received conventional physical therapy twice a week for 12 weeks
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At 1-year follow-up, on a 24-point disability scale, patients in the aquatics group had a mean improvement of 4 points greater than those in the conventional physical therapy group, a clinically meaningful difference
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On a 10-point pain scale, patients in the water exercise group showed nearly 2 points greater improvement than those in the conventional physical therapy group
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In secondary measures of function and sleep, the water exercise group also showed significantly greater improvements than the usual physical therapy group
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Comments The average age of these patients is younger than the chronic low back pain patients seen by many primary care physicians in the United States, and for many of our patients, supervised water sports may be less of an opportunity
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The authors note that this study included patients with low back pain "with or without" lower extremity pain
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Radiating pain occurs in about 20% of patients, but it is unclear whether this refers specifically to radicular leg pain (eg, sciatica) and whether such patients respond differently from those with nonspecific lumbosacral strain
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But for the common and often thorny problem of low back pain, this research offers us a new treatment option
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Reviewed article Peng MS et al.
Efficacy of therapeutic aquatic exercise vs physical therapy modalities for patients with chronic low back pain: A randomized clinical trial.
JAMA Netw Open 2022 Jan 7; 5:e2142069.
(https://doi.
org/ 10.
1001/jamanetworkopen.
2021.
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