The overall aim of the present study is to compare two different psychological methods, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Graduated Exposure in vivo (EXP) in the treatment of chronic back pain with regard to effectiveness and improvement of pain related disability. Exploratory research will also be conducted to identify predictors of which patient groups benefit more from which method. This should optimise treatment options and create effective treatment offers for subgroups of pain patients. Exposure therapy is an effective and economical treatment modality and was shown in a previous pilot study to be superior to CBT in reducing perceived movement limitation. CBT, on the other hand, appeared to be more effective in establishing coping strategies. With the help of the current study it should be possible to compare the effectiveness of both treatment methods and, in perspective, to identify those patient groups that benefit from exposure therapy and thus create a tailor-made treatment programme for subgroups of pain patients. A total of 380 patients (age: ≥ 18) with chronic back pain and a sufficient degree of impairment will be included and analysed in the study.
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Change in pain related disability
Timeframe: from Baseline to Posttest (an expected average of 15 weeks) to Follow Up Assessments (an expected average of 6 months after Posttest and 2 years after Posttest)