Return to Work Interventions for Patients With Low Back Pain

NCT ID: NCT00329342

Last Updated: 2007-11-27

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

80 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2006-04-30

Study Completion Date

2007-06-30

Brief Summary

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Low back pain has become a major concern to employees and employers because of its negative impact on employee health and productivity.

The objective of this study is to investigate whether a return-to-work intervention conducted during inpatient rehabilitation improves functional limitations that are related with low back pain and interfere with job performance.

Detailed Description

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In recent years most industrialized nations have been confronted with a dramatic increase in cases dealing with back pain; in Germany, back pain belongs to the major individual and societal health problems with associated costs that have put a strain not only on health care systems. Besides frequent demand for medical services, loss of production (due to temporal sick leave) and disability allowances are important economic factors. In total, the estimated annual costs caused by back pain range between 16 and 22 billion Euros. Population based studies revealed high life-time prevalence with 80% report having ever experienced back pain. The point prevalence lies between 30 and 40%. Approximately one-fourth to one-third of those affected suffer from clinically significant back pain. Epidemiological evidence for the prevalence of back pain, its severity, course and associated risk factors is extensive; however, little systematic knowledge is available about treatment of back pain especially about return-to-work interventions.

This study is designed as a quasi-experimental study to evaluate benefits of return-to-work interventions during medical rehabilitation. Positive effects are expected for low back pain related functional limitations and subsequently job performance. The intervention tested is based on the biomechanical model of chronic pain that assumes a relationship between external strain, body posture, muscle activity, and intravertebral pressure. According to this model, chronic low back pain is partially caused by overexertion and poor postural habits. The intervention aims at lowering the impact of biomechanical stress by training an adequate body posture while performing activities of daily living or job-related activities. Additionally, performing job-related activities target fear-avoidance beliefs especially assumptions about the connection between pain and work activities. The experimental group training good postural habits while performing activities of daily living or job-related activities (additionally to standard rehabilitation activities such as physiotherapy or education and counselling) will be compared with participants receiving a standard rehabilitation only.

Outcome measures are assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 6 month post-intervention.

Conditions

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Low Back Pain

Keywords

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Low back pain; Return to work; Posture

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NON_RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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1

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Occupational ergonomic training

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Adequate postural habits in activities of daily living

2

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Occupational ergonomic training

Adequate postural habits in activities of daily living

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Chronic low back pain
* Undergoing inpatient rehabilitation
* Working age

Exclusion Criteria

* Receiving or applying for retirement pension
* Diagnostic findings that require surgery
Minimum Eligible Age

18 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

60 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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European Union

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Federal ministry of labour and social affairs

UNKNOWN

Sponsor Role collaborator

Forschungsinstitut für Balneologie und Kurortwissenschaft Bad Elster

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role lead

Principal Investigators

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Martina Markes

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Forschungsinstitut fuer Balneologie und Kurortwissenschaft

Locations

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Vogtlandklinik Bad Elster

Bad Elster, , Germany

Site Status

Countries

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Germany

References

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Schmidt CO, Kohlmann T. [What do we know about the symptoms of back pain? Epidemiological results on prevalence, incidence, progression and risk factors]. Z Orthop Ihre Grenzgeb. 2005 May-Jun;143(3):292-8. doi: 10.1055/s-2005-836631. German.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 15977117 (View on PubMed)

Keller S, Herda C, Ridder K, Basler HD. Readiness to adopt adequate postural habits: an application of the Transtheoretical Model in the context of back pain prevention. Patient Educ Couns. 2001 Feb;42(2):175-84. doi: 10.1016/s0738-3991(00)00103-8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 11118783 (View on PubMed)

Waddell G, Newton M, Henderson I, Somerville D, Main CJ. A Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ) and the role of fear-avoidance beliefs in chronic low back pain and disability. Pain. 1993 Feb;52(2):157-168. doi: 10.1016/0304-3959(93)90127-B.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 8455963 (View on PubMed)

Fairbank JC, Couper J, Davies JB, O'Brien JP. The Oswestry low back pain disability questionnaire. Physiotherapy. 1980 Aug;66(8):271-3. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 6450426 (View on PubMed)

Pfingsten M, Kroner-Herwig B, Leibing E, Kronshage U, Hildebrandt J. Validation of the German version of the Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (FABQ). Eur J Pain. 2000;4(3):259-66. doi: 10.1053/eujp.2000.0178.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 10985869 (View on PubMed)

Huppe A, Raspe H. [Efficacy of inpatient rehabilitation for chronic back pain in Germany: a systematic review 1980-2001]. Rehabilitation (Stuttg). 2003 Jun;42(3):143-54. doi: 10.1055/s-2003-40099. German.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 12813651 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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RTW-LBP-1

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id