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Cognitive Functional Therapy Offers Lasting Relief for Chronic Low Back Pain

Three-year trial data reveal durable pain relief without extra biofeedback benefits, highlighting the need for wider clinician training

Man from behind with hands on lower back pain.
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Overview

  • Patients in the CFT groups reported 3.5 to 4.1 point greater reductions in disability than those receiving usual care at three-year follow-up
  • Incorporating movement sensor biofeedback did not yield additional long-term improvements over CFT alone
  • Sensitivity analyses adjusting for the roughly one-third of participants lost to follow-up confirmed effect sizes consistent with the primary findings
  • The RESTORE trial enrolled 492 patients across 20 Australian clinics, randomly assigning them to CFT alone, CFT with biofeedback, or usual care
  • Investigators urge expansion of CFT practitioner training and replication studies in diverse health systems to support broader implementation