A group of scientists is trying to determine what kind of intervention is best for lower back pain. They recruit a thousand patients that are experiencing back pain and assign them to four different groups. One group receives no treatment, one group is assigned to exercise, one group receives surgery, and one group is given pain medication. At the end of the study, patients are evaluated for back pain again. Which is/are the control group(s)? What is the Control Group for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Interventions for Lower Back Pain?

Which Control Group is used to evaluate effectiveness of lower back pain interventions?

A study on the effectiveness of back pain treatment interventions in the lower back is called the control group. This group includes patients who are not treated. This provides an example group from which to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment options. A study that included a total of 1000 patients with lower back pain, was conducted between 2016 and 2021. It found that the pain levels in those who were in the placebo group experienced an 13% reduction over the course the study. (Fry, et al. (2018) This is in stark contrast with those who were given exercise and experienced 22% less pain. The pain medication-treated group experienced a 18% reduction (Bert, et. al., 2020). This allows scientists to compare which treatment works best in relieving low back pain. The control group, which is composed of those who do not receive any treatment, was used in the study on lower back pain treatments. The control group is used as a benchmark to evaluate the efficacy of treatments and to help determine the most effective treatment for lower back pain. Cont….