OBJECTIVES: To examine the relative efficacy of three active therapies for patients with chronic low back pain. METHODS:One hundred and forty-eight subjects with chronic low back pain were randomized to receive, twice weekly for 3 months, (i) active physiotherapy, (ii) muscle reconditioning on training devices, or (ii) low-impact aerobics. Questionnaires were administered to assess pain intensity, pain frequency and disability before and after therapy and at 6 and 12 months of follow-up. RESULTS:One hundred and thirty-two of the 148 patients (89%) completed the therapy programmes and 127 of the 148 (86%) returned a questionnaire at all four time-points. The three treatments were equally efficacious in significantly reducing pain intensity and frequency for up to 1 yr after therapy. However, the groups differed with respect to the temporal changes in self-rated disability over the study period (P=0.03): all groups showed a similar reduction after therapy, but for the physiotherapy group disability increased again during the first 6 months of follow-up whilst the other two groups showed a further decline. In all groups the values then remained stable up to the 12-month follow-up. The larger group size and minimal infrastructure required for low-impact aerobics rendered it considerably less expensive to administer than the other two programmes. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of low-impact aerobic exercise programmes for patients with chronic low back pain may reduce the enormous costs associated with its treatment.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: To examine the relative efficacy of three active therapies for patients with chronic low back pain. METHODS: One hundred and forty-eight subjects with chronic low back pain were randomized to receive, twice weekly for 3 months, (i) active physiotherapy, (ii) muscle reconditioning on training devices, or (ii) low-impact aerobics. Questionnaires were administered to assess pain intensity, pain frequency and disability before and after therapy and at 6 and 12 months of follow-up. RESULTS: One hundred and thirty-two of the 148 patients (89%) completed the therapy programmes and 127 of the 148 (86%) returned a questionnaire at all four time-points. The three treatments were equally efficacious in significantly reducing pain intensity and frequency for up to 1 yr after therapy. However, the groups differed with respect to the temporal changes in self-rated disability over the study period (P=0.03): all groups showed a similar reduction after therapy, but for the physiotherapy group disability increased again during the first 6 months of follow-up whilst the other two groups showed a further decline. In all groups the values then remained stable up to the 12-month follow-up. The larger group size and minimal infrastructure required for low-impact aerobics rendered it considerably less expensive to administer than the other two programmes. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of low-impact aerobic exercise programmes for patients with chronic low back pain may reduce the enormous costs associated with its treatment.
Authors: Burel R Goodin; Lynanne M McGuire; Laura M Stapleton; Noel B Quinn; Lacy A Fabian; Jennifer A Haythornthwaite; Robert R Edwards Journal: Psychosom Med Date: 2009-09-24 Impact factor: 4.312
Authors: Dilek Durmus; Gamze Alayli; Ahmet Salim Goktepe; Mehmet Ali Taskaynatan; Ayhan Bilgici; Omer Kuru Journal: Rheumatol Int Date: 2013-01-03 Impact factor: 2.631
Authors: Roger Hilfiker; Lucas M Bachmann; Carolin A-M Heitz; Tobias Lorenz; Harri Joronen; Andreas Klipstein Journal: Eur Spine J Date: 2007-08-15 Impact factor: 3.134