Guidelines recommend nonpharmacologic care—like physical therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness—as the first line of treatment for chronic lower back pain. But little is known about which treatment is best. A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in April of 2026 sought to fill in this knowledge gap.
A randomized controlled trial assigned 749 participants with chronic lower back pain to receive eight weekly sessions of either physical therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy. After 10 weeks, researchers found physical therapy led to a slightly greater improvement in function than cognitive behavioral therapy, but improvement of pain was not significantly different between the two groups.
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