Comparison of Operant Behavioral and Cognitive-Behavioral Group Treatment for Chronic Low Back Pain.
Turner, Judith A. 1,2,3; Clancy, Steve 1
[Article] Journal of Consulting & Clinical Psychology. 56(2):261-266, April 1988.

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To evaluate and compare the efficacy of two widely used behavioral approaches for the treatment of chronic pain, 81 mildly dysfunctional chronic low back pain patients were randomly assigned to operant behavioral (OB) treatment, cognitive-behavioral (CB) treatment, or a waiting-list (WL) control condition. Both treatments, which were conducted in eight-session outpatient groups, resulted in decreased physical and psychosocial disability. The OB patients showed greater pre- to posttreatment improvement as rated by patients and their spouses than did the CB patients. Generally, the OB patients showed a leveling off in improvement at 6- and 12-month follow-ups, whereas the CB patients generally continued to improve over the 12 months following treatment. At 12-month follow-up, patients in both treatments remained significantly improved, with no significant differences between conditions.

(C) 1988 by the American Psychological Association