It's the second biggest reason people flood their doctor's office every year...back pain. But a new report shows medications and even surgery won't cure the problem! In this NBC Augusta Health report here’s another treatment that promises to help.

This isn't a gym class, it's a physical therapy session and it could be the answer to help cure your back pain. MCG physical therapist Dr. Eric Robertson says doing exercise to strengthen the lower back may work better than the high cost of drugs and surgery.

“Research has shown that physical therapy intervention specifically spinal manipulation and exercise has been shown to decrease back pain. So you don't have to develop chronic back pain,” said Dr. Robertson.

In a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found, out of 23,000 patients with back and neck problems, more than half were wasting money on drug treatments, injections and operations. At the same time their muscles, joints and spinal disc problems were getting worse.

“I think physical therapy has the potential to be more effective than medicine. It's not something you can take a pill to repair, it's something that requires balance of body and mobility,” he said.

Dr. Robertson says physical therapy cost 40 percent less than the medication and surgery and can help fix the problem in less time.

“When you really get specific intervention you are not talking about 30 sessions over the course of six months. You are talking about 4-5 sessions to get you going and in order,” he said.

A solution that could not only bring you relief, but also save you money.