A Cluster-Randomized Trial of the Northwestern Embedded Emergency Department Physical Therapy (NEED-PT) Protocol for Acute Low Back Pain

Low back pain represents a significant health care burden in the United States and accounts for nearly four million emergency department (ED) visits per year. In nearly two thirds of these visits, an opioid medication is administered or prescribed, making low back pain the most common reason for which opioids are prescribed. Despite this aggressive medication-based approach, patient outcomes after an ED visit for back pain remain poor: after three months, nearly half of all patients report persistent functional impairment, and one in five patients report continued opioid use.

ED-initiated physical therapy (ED-PT) is a promising new resource to improve patient care for low back pain. A growing number of EDs now have dedicated physical therapists that evaluate and treat patients through a combination of education, prognostic guidance, and early mobilization and exercise. Preliminary data indicate that patients receiving ED-PT, compared to usual care, report more rapid functional improvement and use fewer opioids. However, these observational data are limited by biases in treatment selection due to physician discretion in which patients receive ED-PT, as well as other measured and unmeasured confounders.

To more rigorously evaluate the efficacy of ED-PT for acute low back pain, the investigators will conduct a single-center physician-randomized trial of an embedded physical therapy intervention (NEED-PT) versus usual care in ED patients with acute low back pain, comparing a primary outcome of pain-related functioning and a secondary outcome of opioid use at the primary endpoint of three months.