Efficacy of an innovative smartphone application for office workers with chronic non-specific low back pain: a pilot randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a newly developed evidence-based low back pain (LBP) management smartphone application.

Design: A double-blinded randomized controlled trial where participants randomly assigned to either an experimental group (EG) or a control group (CG).

Setting: Governmental and private institutions.

Participants: About 40 office workers, aged 30 to 55 years, had pain due to non-specific LBP > 3 on Visual Analogue Scale, and with pain chronicity > 3 months.

Interventions: The EG received full version of the application 'Relieve my back' included evidence-based instructions and therapeutic exercises for LBP management, whereas the CG received placebo version included instructions about nutrition.

Main measures: Primary outcome measures included pain measured by Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), disability measured by Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and quality of life measured by Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12).

Results: Following six weeks of using the application, compared to CG, the EG group demonstrated significant decrease in pain intensity (-3.45 (2.21) vs -0.11 (1.66), P < 0.001), in ODI score (-11.05 (10.40) vs -0.58 (9.0), P = 0.002), and significant increase in physical component of SF-12 (12.85 (17.20) vs -4.63 (12.04), P = 0.001).

Conclusion: 'Relieve my back' application might be efficacious in reducing pain and disability and improving the quality of life of office workers with non-specific LBP.

Keywords: Smartphone; exercise; low back pain; occupational health; quality of life.