United Kingdom back pain exercise and manipulation (UK BEAM) trial: Manipulation alone costs more than other options so why is it recommended?

doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7492.674-b

BMJ 2005;330:674 (19 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7492.674-b

Letter

United Kingdom back pain exercise and manipulation (UK BEAM) trial

Manipulation alone costs more than other options so why is it recommended?

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EDITOR—It is not clear why the UK Beam Trial Team recommendsmanipulation alone for back pain because it costs more per qualityadjusted life year (QALY) than exercise and manipulation combinedand even slightly more than exercise alone.¹ The average effectof exercise and manipulation combined is also larger than theother two in absolute terms.

Timothy R Church, associate professor

University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA trc@cccs.umn.edu

Competing interests: None declared.

UK BEAM Trial Team. United Kingdom back pain exercise and manipulation (UK BEAM) randomised trial: cost effectiveness of physical treatments for back pain in primary care. BMJ 2004;329: 1381-5. (11 December.)[Abstract/Free Full Text]

United Kingdom back pain exercise and manipulation (UK BEAM) randomised trial: cost effectiveness of physical treatments for back pain in primary care: UK BEAM Trial Team
BMJ 2004 329: 1381. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]