People who suffer from low back pain often go through a round of physical therapy as a treatment option, but a new study just released says PT is not a significant factor in the recovery process for some, according to an article on upi.com.

Researchers at the University of Utah analyzed the records of 220 participants in the study over a period of time from March 2011 to November 2013.  From this set of low back pain sufferers, 108 underwent physical therapy to relieve their pain and 112 received standard care for their condition.

The results reveal that the physical therapy patients did have some improvements in walking, moving and being able to lift items following three months of treatment, but they still had the same level of pain reported by the group that did not receive physical therapy.

The researchers followed up with the set of patients after a period of one year, and found the patients reported no significant difference between the groups.

There are a number of conditions that can cause low back pain symptoms, some a severe as a kidney stone or a fracture, and the researchers say that without evidence of such a condition, not doing diagnostic testing can even help make the pain subside by telling the patients that it should go away on its own.

They added that patients can be helped by making them understand that they are being treated, and that can have an effect on the way the patients feel.

Earlier studies have suggested the same thing, with one study promoting talking therapy by instructing the patients in effective ways to manage the pain and discomfort, and that can be sometimes as good as going through a physical therapy routine.