Patients with chronic low back pain may have trouble finding people qualified to administer CBT or MBSR, said Goyal, of the NorthBay Center for Primary Care in Vacaville, Calif.
Even if they can track down practitioners, people may have to pay out of pocket for the programs, he said.
“I’m not sure how well CBT is covered by insurance, but MBSR certainly is not,” said Goyal, who is also affiliated with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. An eight-week MBSR program can cost about $500, he said.
“The current treatments we have are not as effective as we believe them to be and these alternatives that we think of as simple or what we usually typically brush off are highly effective,” said Dr. Jatin Joshi, a pain specialist at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.
“If you have a physician conscientious enough to bring these tools to you, have an open mind,” said Joshi, who was not involved with the new study.
