Treatment of low back pain: Second extended follow up of an original trial (NCT00600197) comparing a multidisciplinary group-based rehabilitation program with oral drug treatment alone up to 30 months

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the extended 30-month follow-up of an original trial (NCT00600197) which has been published in the Clinical Journal of Pain.

Methods: Seventy-four percent (146/197) of the participants who had taken part in the original study, including 69 patients in the intervention group and 77 patients in the control group, were followed up to 30 months after intervention. The intervention group continued receiving monthly motivational consultation and booster classes plus oral medication but the other group received just medication. Data on measures from the Short Form 36 (SF-36), Quebec Disability Scale (QDS) and Ronald Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ) were collected at 3-, 6-, 12-, 18-, 24- and 30-month follow-ups and analyzed through repeated measures analysis of variance.

Results: The two groups were comparable regarding all baseline characteristics (P > 0.05) except for education level and mental health, which were better in the intervention group (P < 0.05). The two groups improved regarding all studied variables over time up to 30 months (P < 0.001). Moreover, the intervention group in comparison with the control group had consistently better outcomes regarding all variables. There were significant differences within each group by time in terms of mental health (P = 0.01) and disability measured through QDS (P = 0.005) and RDQ (P = 0.014).

Conclusion: The proposed multidisciplinary program could improve mental health and disability up to 30 months in chronic low back pain patients.

Keywords: chronic low back pain; health related quality of life; multidisciplinary treatment; oral drug treatment.