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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: Med Care. 2018 Oct;56(10):855–861. doi: 10.1097/MLR.0000000000000977

Table 2.

Pain Levela by NPT modality, for Patients with NRS Pain Scores

NPT Modality No. (%) no pain No. (%) low pain No. (%) moderate pain No. (%) severe pain
Any NPT modality (n=6,031) 1,307 (21.7) 1,565 (25.9) 1,970 (32.7) 1,189 (19.7)
Acupuncture (n=79) 12 (15.2) 18 (22.8) 29 (36.7) 20 (25.3)
Biofeedback (n=7) 2 (28.6) 2 (28.6) 2 (28.6) 1 (14.3)
Chiropractic (n=47) 47 (16.0) 85 (29.0) 114 (40.00) 47 (16.0)
Christian Science practitioner (n=0) N/A N/A N/A N/A
Cold laser (n=24) 3 (12.5) 5 (20.8) 11 (45.8) 5 (20.8)
Coordinated care (n=653) 79 (12.1) 98 (15.0) 218 (33.4) 258 (39.8)
Exercise therapy (n=2,145) 535 (24.9) 585 (27.3) 669 (31.2) 356 (16.6)
Hypnotherapy (n=0) N/A N/A N/A N/A
Lumbar supports (n=182) 39 (21.4) 31 (17.0) 58 (31.9) 54 (29.7)
Massage (n=331) 61 (18.4) 98 (29.6) 118 (35.6) 54 (16.3)
Medical nutrition therapy (n=272) 104 (38.2) 60 (22.1) 72 (26.5) 36 (13.2)
MIRE (n=0) N/A N/A N/A N/A
Occupational stress education / Stress education (n=1,048) 340 (32.4) 318 (30.3) 240 (22.9) 156 (14.57)
Other physical therapy (n=1,230) 190 (15.4) 329 (26.7) 438 (35.6) 273 (22.2)
Recreational therapy (n=13) 2 (15.4) 4 (30.8) 5 (38.5) 2 (15.4)
Self-management (n=2,300) 536 (23.3) 676 (29.4) 673 (29.3) 415 (18.0)
Spinal manipulation (n=77) 12 (15.6) 18 (23.4) 33 (42.9) 15 (18.0)
Superficial heat (n=411) 68 (16.5) 101 (24.6) 158 (38.4) 84 (20.4)
Traction (n=132) 18 (13.6) 31 (23.5) 52 (39.4) 31 (23.5)
TENS and other electrical modulation (n=403) 61 (15.1) 97 (24.1) 154 (38.2) 91 (22.6)
Ultrasonography 24 (14.1) 49 (28.8) 68 (40.0) 29 (17.1)

MIRE, monochromatic infrared energy; N/A, not applicable – when no patients had a NRS pain score associated with a particular NPT modality; NPT, non-pharmacologic therapy; NRS, numeric rating scale; TENS, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation.

a

Pain levels were assigned based on the average pain score.