Riassunto dello studio

Fifty-six patients with low-back pain (LBP) were randomized to receive 3 weeks of outpatient in-hospital physiotherapy (n=31) or mechanical massage chair therapy (n=25). The outcomes of interest included pain scores on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and the McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), the Functional Rating Index (FRI), and cost-effectiveness through the mean cost per patient and total cost. The incidence of complications was also assessed. All outcomes were measured at baseline and at 3 weeks post-treatment. Results demonstrated similar VAS and FRI scores between both groups at 3-weeks post-treatment (p>0.05 for both). MPQ scores post-treatment were statistically significantly in favour of the physiotherapy group (p=0.03). However, the improvement in VAS pain scores and FRI scores was statistically significantly better in the physiotherapy group (p=0.03 for both). In addition, the massage chair therapy was more cost-effective than physiotherapy (p<0.001), being 60.17% the cost of physiotherapy.