Adding self-care complementary therapies to practitioner care showed no difference in pain function for Veterans.
This study evaluated Veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain across multiple medical centers within the Veterans Health Administration. Participants were assigned to receive practitioner-delivered complementary and integrative health therapies alone or to receive those same therapies while also having access to self-care options such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, massage therapy, yoga, mindfulness, and Tai Chi. The primary focus was on changes in pain-related functional interference measured at six months. Secondary assessments included perceived improvements in pain, fatigue, mental health, and overall well-being.
Results indicated that pain-related functional interference improved in both treatment groups. The trial reported no meaningful difference between the two arms regarding this primary outcome. Similarly, the proportion of patients achieving clinically meaningful improvement was comparable regardless of whether self-care options were available. Qualitative analysis of secondary outcomes suggested modest perceived improvements in various domains for the group with access to self-care, yet these did not translate into a clear advantage over the standard practitioner-delivered care alone.
The authors highlight significant limitations, noting that structural nudges and the availability of therapies were used as a surrogate to randomization. This design prevents definitive causal conclusions about whether adding self-care therapies provides additional benefit. Safety data were not reported in detail. The study suggests that while expanding availability is a positive step, the specific addition of self-care components did not demonstrate superiority over practitioner-delivered care in this context.
View Original Abstract ↓
Resistance training improves quality of life in older adults with osteoporosis, meta-analysis finds
Resistance training improves quality of life for older adults with osteoporosis
Related in Physical Medicine & Rehab
From Other Specialties
