The Fear Reduction Exercised Early (FREE) approach to low back pain: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

A Guideline-Implementation Intervention to Improve the Management of Low Back Pain in Primary Care: A Difference-in-Difference-in-Differences Analysis

BACKGROUND

Real-world adherence to clinical practice guidelines is often poor, resulting in sub-standard patient care and unnecessary healthcare costs. This study evaluates the effect of a guideline-implementation intervention for the management of low back pain (LBP) in general practice-the Fear Reduction Exercised Early (FREE) approach-on LBP-related injury insurance claims, healthcare utilisation, and costs of treatment.

DESIGN

Data were extracted from comprehensive nationwide New Zealand injury insurance claims records. Data were analysed using a 'triple-difference' (difference-in-difference-in-differences) method to isolate the causal effect of FREE training on LBP claims activity, comparing the difference in general practitioner (GP) LBP claims and associated activity before and after training with their non-musculoskeletal injury claims for the same periods (assumed to be unaffected by training), relative to the same comparisons for GPs not trained in the FREE approach.

RESULTS

Training GPs in the FREE approach resulted in significant reductions in the number of LBP injury claims lodged (- 19%, 95% CI -34 to -5), the use of physiotherapy (-30%, 95% CI - 42 to - 18) and imaging (- 27%, 95% CI - 46 to - 8%), and the healthcare costs (- 21%, 95% CI - 41 to - 1) of LBP injury. Changes in claims for earnings' compensation (- 10%, 95% CI - 34 to 13) were not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

A brief guideline-implementation intervention following best-practice LBP management and guideline-implementation strategies achieved significant reductions, persisting over at least 6 to18 months, in healthcare utilisation consistent with improved delivery of guideline-concordant care.

Patient education materials for non-specific low back pain and sciatica: A systematic review and meta-analysis

INTRODUCTION

Guidelines recommend patient education materials (PEMs) for low back pain (LBP), but no systematic review has assessed PEMs on their own. We investigated the effectiveness of PEMs on process, clinical, and health system outcomes for LBP and sciatica.

METHODS

Systematic searches were performed in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, trial registries and grey literature through OpenGrey. We included randomized controlled trials of PEMs for LBP. Data extraction, risk of bias, and quality of evidence gradings were performed independently by two reviewers. Standardized mean differences or risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated, and effect sizes pooled using random-effects models. Analyses of acute/subacute LBP were performed separately from chronic LBP at immediate, short, medium, and long-term (6, 12, 24, and 52 weeks, respectively).

RESULTS

27 studies were identified. Compared to usual care for chronic LBP, we found moderate to low-quality evidence that PEMs improved pain intensity at immediate (SMD = -0.16 [95% CI: -0.29, -0.03]), short (SMD = -0.44 [95% CI: -0.88, 0.00]), medium (SMD = -0.53 [95% CI: -1.01, -0.05]), and long-term (SMD = -0.21 [95% CI: -0.41, -0.01]), medium-term disability (SMD = -0.32 [95% CI: -0.61, -0.03]), quality of life at short (SMD = -0.17 [95% CI: -0.30, -0.04]) and medium-term (SMD = -0.23 [95% CI: -0.41, -0.04]) and very low-quality evidence that PEMs improved global improvement ratings at immediate (SMD = -0.40 [95% CI: -0.58, -0.21]), short (SMD = -0.42 [95% CI: -0.60, -0.24]), medium (SMD = -0.46 [95% CI: -0.65, -0.28]), and long-term (SMD = -0.43 [95% CI: -0.61, -0.24]). We found very low-quality evidence that PEMs improved pain self-efficacy at immediate (SMD = -0.21 [95% CI: -0.39, -0.03]), short (SMD = -0.25 [95% CI: -0.43, -0.06]), medium (SMD = -0.23 [95% CI: -0.41, -0.05]), and long-term (SMD = -0.32 [95% CI: -0.50, -0.13]), and reduced medium-term fear-avoidance beliefs (SMD = -0.24 [95% CI: -0.43, -0.06]) and long-term stress (SMD = -0.21 [95% CI: -0.39, -0.03]). Compared to usual care for acute LBP, we found high to moderate-quality evidence that PEMs improved short-term pain intensity (SMD = -0.24 [95% CI: -0.42, -0.06]) and immediate-term quality of life (SMD = -0.24 [95% CI: -0.42, -0.07]). We found low to very low-quality evidence that PEMs increased knowledge at immediate (SMD = -0.51 [95% CI: -0.72, -0.31]), short (SMD = -0.48 [95% CI: -0.90, -0.05]), and long-term (RR = 1.28 [95% CI: 1.10, 1.49]) and pain self-efficacy at short (SMD = -0.78 [95% CI: -0.98, -0.58]) and long-term (SMD = -0.32 [95% CI: -0.52, -0.12]). We found moderate to very low-quality evidence that PEMs reduced short-term days off work (SMD = -0.35 [95% CI: -0.63, -0.08]), long-term imaging referrals (RR = 0.60 [95% CI: 0.41, 0.89]), and long-term physician visits (SMD = -0.16 [95% CI: -0.26, -0.05]). Compared to other interventions (e.g., yoga, Pilates), PEMs had no effect or were less effective for acute/subacute and chronic LBP.

CONCLUSIONS

There was a high degree of variability across outcomes and time points, but providing PEMs appears favorable to usual care as we observed many small, positive patient and system impacts for acute/subacute and chronic LBP. PEMs were generally less effective than other interventions; however, no cost effectiveness analyses were performed to weigh the relative benefits of these interventions to the likely less costly PEMs.

The Fear Reduction Exercised Early (FREE) approach to management of low back pain in general practice: A pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND

Effective and cost-effective primary care treatments for low back pain (LBP) are required to reduce the burden of the world's most disabling condition. This study aimed to compare the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the Fear Reduction Exercised Early (FREE) approach to LBP (intervention) with usual general practitioner (GP) care (control).

METHODS AND FINDINGS

This pragmatic, cluster-randomised controlled trial with process evaluation and parallel economic evaluation was conducted in the Hutt Valley, New Zealand. Eight general practices were randomly assigned (stratified by practice size) with a 1:1 ratio to intervention (4 practices; 34 GPs) or control group (4 practices; 29 GPs). Adults presenting to these GPs with LBP as their primary complaint were recruited. GPs in the intervention practices were trained in the FREE approach, and patients presenting to these practices received care based on the FREE approach. The FREE approach restructures LBP consultations to prioritise early identification and management of barriers to recovery. GPs in control practices did not receive specific training for this study, and patients presenting to these practices received usual care. Between 23 September 2016 and 31 July 2017, 140 eligible patients presented to intervention practices (126 enrolled) and 110 eligible patients presented to control practices (100 enrolled). Patient mean age was 46.1 years (SD 14.4), and 46% were female. The duration of LBP was less than 6 weeks in 88% of patients. Primary outcome was change from baseline in patient participant Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) score at 6 months. Secondary patient outcomes included pain, satisfaction, and psychosocial indices. GP outcomes included attitudes, knowledge, confidence, and GP LBP management behaviour. There was active and passive surveillance of potential harms. Patients and outcome assessors were blind to group assignment. Analysis followed intention-to-treat principles. A total of 122 (97%) patients from 32 GPs in the intervention group and 99 (99%) patients from 25 GPs in the control group were included in the primary outcome analysis. At 6 months, the groups did not significantly differ on the primary outcome (adjusted mean RMDQ score difference 0.57, 95% CI -0.64 to 1.78; p = 0.354) or secondary patient outcomes. The RMDQ difference met the predefined criterion to indicate noninferiority. One control group participant experienced an activity-related gluteal tear, with no other adverse events recorded. Intervention group GPs had improvements in attitudes, knowledge, and confidence compared with control group GPs. Intervention group GP LBP management behaviour became more guideline concordant than the control group. In cost-effectiveness, the intervention dominated control with lower costs and higher Quality-Adjusted Life Year (QALY) gains. Limitations of this study were that although adequately powered for primary outcome assessment, the study was not powered for evaluating some employment, healthcare use, and economic outcomes. It was also not possible for research nurses (responsible for patient recruitment) to be masked on group allocation for practices.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings from this study suggest that the FREE approach improves GP concordance with LBP guideline recommendations but does not improve patient recovery outcomes compared with usual care. The FREE approach may reduce unnecessary healthcare use and produce economic benefits. Work participation or health resource use should be considered for primary outcome assessment in future trials of undifferentiated LBP.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ACTRN12616000888460.

The relationship between the psychological stress of adolescents in school and the prevalence of chronic low back pain: a cross-sectional study in China

BACKGROUND

Accumulating evidence supports an association between an unhealthy mental state and low back pain (LBP). However, the degree of the association between mental health and chronic low back pain (CLBP) in the general population is poorly understood. The objective of this study was to analyze the incidence of CLBP in Chinese college students and to examine the association between students' unhealthy mental states and the prevalence of CLBP.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study. A total of 10,000 questionnaires were distributed in the second semester of the 2017-2018 academic year by the School of Medicine, Shanghai JiaoTong University. Eligible participants were students aged ≥ 18 years from randomly selected Chinese colleges. Participants completed a questionnaire survey that included items from the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) and items on demographic factors, LBP prevalence, quality of life at their university, study-related stress and interpersonal relationships. The evaluation of students' mental states in the survey was divided into two major parts: direct and indirect indicators. A multivariate logistic regression model was mainly used to explore the relationship between CLBP and the students' mental health.

RESULTS

There was a high incidence of CLBP in the college students. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that the risk of CLBP increased with increasing scores on the SCL-90, and a clinically unhealthy mental state (scores greater than 3) was significantly associated with CLBP (adjusted odds ratios for depression, anxiety, coercion, paranoia, and interpersonal sensitivity were 7.209, 6.593, 3.959, 4.465, and 4.283, respectively; p < 0.001). Participants who had poor living habits or uncomfortable campus lives and those who experienced heavy academic pressure also showed a higher positive association with CLBP compared with the full sample.

CONCLUSIONS

Unhealthy psychological conditions, which may be attributed to unsatisfying school lives, excessive learning pressure, and uncomfortable interpersonal relationships, represent a risk factor for CLBP in college students.

Home-based cycling program tailored to older people with lumbar spinal stenosis: Barriers and facilitators

BACKGROUND

Lumbar-flexion-based endurance training, namely cycling, could be effective in reducing pain and improving function and health-related quality of life in older people with chronic low back pain.

OBJECTIVES

To assess barriers and facilitators to home-based cycling in older patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective mixed-method study. Patients≥50 years old followed up for LSS from November 2015 to June 2016 in a French tertiary care center were screened. The intervention consisted of a single supervised session followed by home-based sessions of cycling, with dose (number of sessions and duration, distance and power per session) self-determined by patient preference. The primary outcome was assessed by a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews at baseline and 3 months and was the identification of barriers and facilitators to the intervention. Secondary outcomes were assessed by a quantitative approach and were adherence monitored by a USB stick connected to the bicycle, burden of treatment assessed by the Exercise Therapy Burden Questionnaire (ETBQ) and clinical efficacy assessed by change in lumbar pain, radicular pain, disability, spine-specific activity limitation and maximum walking distance at 3 months.

RESULTS

Overall, 15 patients were included and data for 12 were analyzed at 3 months. At baseline, the mean age was 70.9 years (95% CI: 64.9-76.8) and 9/15 patients (60.0%) were women. Barriers to cycling were fear of pain and fatigue, a too large bicycle, burden of hospital follow-up and lack of time and motivation. Facilitators were clinical improvement, surveillance and ease-of-use of the bicycle. Adherence remained stable overtime. The burden of treatment was low [mean ETBQ score: 21.0 (95% confidence interval: 11.5-30.5)]. At 3 months, 7/12 patients (58.3%) self-reported clinical improvement, with reduced radicular pain and disability [mean absolute differences: -27.5 (-43.3 to -11.7), P<0.01 and -17.5 (-32.1 to -2.9), P=0.01, respectively].

CONCLUSIONS

For people with LSS, home-based cycling is a feasible intervention.