A Prospective Observational Study of Emergency Department-Initiated Physical Therapy for Acute Low Back Pain

Abstract

Objective: Low back pain accounts for nearly 4 million emergency department (ED) visits annually and is a significant source of disability. Physical therapy has been suggested as a potentially effective nonopioid treatment for low back pain; however, no studies to our knowledge have yet evaluated the emerging resource of ED-initiated physical therapy. The study objective was to compare patient-reported outcomes in patients receiving ED-initiated physical therapy and patients receiving usual care for acute low back pain.

Methods: This was a prospective observational study of ED patients receiving either physical therapy or usual care for acute low back pain from May 1, 2018, to May 24, 2019, at a single academic ED (>91,000 annual visits). The primary outcome was pain-related functioning, assessed with Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System pain interference (PROMIS-PI) scores. The secondary outcome was use of high-risk medications (opioids, benzodiazepines, and skeletal muscle relaxants). Outcomes were compared over 3 months using adjusted linear mixed and generalized estimating equation models.

Results: For 101 participants (43 receiving ED-initiated physical therapy and 58 receiving usual care), the median age was 40.5 years and 59% were women. Baseline outcome scores in the ED-initiated physical therapy group were higher than those in the usual care group (ODI = 51.1 vs 36.0; PROMIS-PI = 67.6 vs 62.7). Patients receiving ED-initiated physical therapy had greater improvements in both ODI and PROMIS-PI scores at the 3-month follow-up (ODI = -14.4 [95% CI = -23.0 to -5.7]; PROMIS-PI = -5.1 [95% CI = -9.9 to -0.4]) and lower use of high-risk medications (odds ratio = 0.05 [95% CI = 0.01 to 0.58]).

Conclusion: In this single-center observational study, ED-initiated physical therapy for acute low back pain was associated with improvements in functioning and lower use of high-risk medications compared with usual care; the causality of these relationships remains to be explored.

Impact: ED-initiated physical therapy is a promising therapy for acute low back pain that may reduce reliance on high-risk medications while improving patient-reported outcomes.

Lay summary: Emergency department-initiated physical therapy for low back pain was associated with greater improvement in functioning and lower use of high-risk medications over 3 months.

Keywords: Acute Care; Acute Pain; Analgesics; Back Pain; Emergency Care.