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document
Are back supports plus education more effective than education alone in promoting recovery from low back pain ? : Results from a randomized clinical trial . STUDY DESIGN Randomized clinical trial . OBJECTIVES To evaluate the effectiveness of a back support plus education versus education alone in promoting recovery from a work-related low back disorder ( WR-LBD ) while simultaneously considering personal , health , and occupational factors and the impact of occupational factors on recovery . SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA No randomized studies of active industrial workers with low back disorders exist regarding the effectiveness of back supports plus education . METHODS A total of 433 actively employed hourly union workers who had a recent diagnosis of a WR-LBD : 1 ) those who wore a specially designed back support plus received education on back health ; and 2 ) those who received education on back health only . Demographic , health , medical , and occupational factors were obtained through interview or abstraction of computer files ; individual ergonomic exposures were measured with a lumbar motion monitor . Outcomes evaluated over a 12-month period included : self-reported measures of back pain , back pain disability level , physical health , mental health , and administrative measures of recurrence , lost work time , and medical care utilization . RESULTS There was no difference between the study groups with respect to mental or physical health , low back pain , back pain disability , neurogenic symptoms , lost work time , likelihood of recurrence of an episode of a back disorder , or other administrative measures of healthcare utilization or lost work time . However , significant decreases in low back pain , low back pain disability , neurogenic symptoms , and an increase in physical health were observed over the 12 months of observation in both study groups . The only occupational variable found to influence was plant group whereby service parts operations workers in the back support plus education group experienced a lower likelihood of WR-LBD recurrence . CONCLUSION Although there was no overall effect on self-reported recovery or administrative measures or lost work time between the study groups , a back support plus health education may have some value in preventing recurrent WR-LBD in industrial workers who work in psychosocial environments and perform manual material handling tasks similar to those found in parts distribution centers .
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Intervention_Educational
back supports plus education
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Intervention_Educational
education alone
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Intervention_Educational
back support plus education
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Intervention_Educational
education alone
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Intervention_Educational
a specially designed back support plus received education on back health
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Intervention_Educational
education on back health only .
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Intervention_Educational
back support plus health education
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Outcome_Pain
self-reported measures of back pain
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Outcome_Physical
back pain disability level , physical health
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Outcome_Mental
mental health
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Outcome_Other
administrative measures of recurrence , lost work time , and medical care utilization
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Outcome_Pain
low back pain
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Outcome_Mental
neurogenic symptoms
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Outcome_Physical
likelihood of recurrence of an episode of a back disorder
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Outcome_Physical
WR-LBD recurrence
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Participant_Condition
low back pain
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Participant_Condition
work-related low back disorder
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Participant_Condition
WR-LBD
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Participant_Condition
active industrial workers
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Participant_Condition
low back disorders
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Participant_Sample-size
433