Study finds disparities in access to physical therapy for spine pain in long-term care residents

A recent study led by Rachel Prusynski, DPT, PhD, along with Sean Rundell, DPT, PhD, and Laura Gold, PhD, of the UW CLEAR Center , has uncovered significant disparities in the utilization of physical therapy (PT) services among Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with a history of spine pain residing in long-term care (LTC) settings. The findings were published in the Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

The study analyzed Medicare administrative data from 2017 to 2019, focusing on LTC residents aged 65 and older with a history of spine pain. Researchers found that while nearly half of the 999,495 LTC residents received PT services, only 12.1% of these PT episodes specifically addressed spine pain.

The study found that residents with pain in multiple spine regions or neuropathic pain were more likely to receive PT. Residents with inpatient admissions also had higher odds of receiving PT. However, disparities in access to PT were evident for residents from minoritized racial and ethnic groups and those with dementia, depression, or living in urban or socioeconomically deprived areas.

The study highlights the need for further examination of PT outcomes and the removal of barriers to PT for LTC residents with spine pain.