Back Pain, Complementary and Alternative Medicine

Full Title: Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Back Pain Utilization

Expected Release Date: late 2008

Key Questions

What complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies are being used for treatment of persons with back pain (BP) in the United States?

1. What is the relative utilization for the different CAM therapies?
   1. Does the utilization differ by where the BP is anatomically located (i.e., neck, mid-back, low back)?
   2. Which therapies are used as complementary to conventional care and which are used as alternative?
   3. When more than one therapy is used for back pain, how are these combined?
2. What is the utilization that is recommended by different types of healthcare providers?
   1. How do these recommendations compare to the actual utilization reported in studies from question 1?
   2. How do the recommended and actual utilization reported differ by CAM practitioner type?
3. What are usual costs for these therapies per treatment and for the prescribed course of treatments?
   1. How much of this cost is covered by insurance or included in HMO health plans?

Current as of June 2008

Internet Citation:

Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Back Pain Utilization, Clinical Focus. June 2008. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/tp/backcamtp.htm