title: Effects of different treatment modalities on gait symmetry and clinical measures for sacroiliac joint patients. Secondary Prevention of Low‐Back Pain: A Clinical Trial A Controlled, Prospective Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Back School in the Relief of Chronic Low Back Pain A controlled study on the outcome of inpatient and outpatient treatment of low back pain. Part III. Long-term follow-up of pain, disability, and compliance. Back pain: treatment and prevention in a community hospital. Conservative Treatment of Acute Low Back Pain: A 5‐Year Follow‐up Study of Two Methods of Treatment A controlled trial of an educational program to prevent low back injuries. The secondary prevention of low back pain: a controlled study with follow-up The effect of the Swedish Back School in chronic idiopathic low back pain. A prospective controlled study. Learning Effects of a Back Education Program A back school in The Netherlands: evaluating the results.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of two different treatment modalities on the rehabilitation process of chronic sacroiliac joint patients . The treatment modalities included spinal manipulative therapy given by a chiropractor and a program of back school therapy given by a physiotherapist . The rehabilitation process was assessed using clinical and biomechanical measures . It was found that back school therapy was a better treatment modality than the spinal manipulative therapy , according to the clinical measures of rehabilitation . Precisely the opposite result was found for the biomechanical measures A clinical trial , aim ed at secondary prevention of low-back pain , was performed in 142 hospital employees reporting at least three annual episodes of this condition . Participants were r and omly assigned to one of three groups : a calisthenics program ( CAL ) for 3 months with biweekly sessions of flexion exercises , a back school program ( 5 sessions ) , and a control group . The effectiveness of the two intervention programs was evaluated over a 1-year period . Baseline preintervention data and evaluation at the end of 3 months of intervention and after an additional 6 months were collected . A monthly surveillance for the whole year showed a mean of 4.5 “ painful months ” in the CAL group versus 7.3 and 7.4 months in the back school and control groups , respectively ( P < 0.0001 ) . The superiority of the CAL group was achieved partly because of the significant increase in trunk forward flexion and to initial increment in abdominal muscle strength . The increased trunk flexion was associated with the rate of participation in the CAL sessions . Further research is needed to answer the question of “ intensity versus type of exercise ” by comparing different intervention programs , with similar intensity Ninety-two chronic low back pain patients were r and omly allocated to two groups to evaluate the effectiveness of a back school compared with an exercise-only regimen according to specified outcome variables . The data from 78 patients with 7 years mean duration of symptoms was analyzed . Three assessment s were made : before treatment and 6 and 16 weeks after treatment . Changes in patients ' levels of pain , functional disability , and other related variables were compared in the two groups . Almost all variables showed an improvement at 6 weeks . At 16 weeks , functional disability and pain levels showed a significant difference . Back school patients continued to make an improvement . This method of managing low back pain makes maximal use of limited re sources and appears to be effective , especially in the longer term The long-term outcome results of  inpatient and outpatient treatment  of low back pain ( LBP ) were studied in 476 subjects ( aged 35 - 54 , 63 % men ) r and omly assigned to three study groups : in patients ( n = 157 ) , out patients ( n = 159 ) , and controls ( n = 160 ) . The study included changes in the severity of low back pain , grade and disability , compliance with self-care , data on disability pensions , and days of sickness allowance  during a 2.5-year follow-up period . These variables were used as outcome criteria . Pain and disability had decreased significantly in the two treated groups up to the 3-month follow-up . LBP was still a little slighter in the in patients at the 1.5-year and 22-month follow-ups , but there were no significant differences between the groups in disability caused by LBP . The refresher programme carried out 1.5 years after the first one did not bring about as clear short-term improvement in pain and disability as the first treatment . During the whole 2.5-year follow-up compliance with self-care was better in the two treated groups , especially in the in patients . Days of sickness allowance had increased somewhat more in the controls than in the in patients during the follow-up . No differences between the groups were found in the number of disability pensions granted Because back pain is a widespread and costly condition that tends to recur , treatment must focus on both the amelioration of acute symptoms and prevention over the long term . This paper reports a longitudinal evaluation of a program from a community hospital that emphasizes both these aspects . One hundred twenty patients routinely admitted to this program were r and omly assigned to treatment and control groups . These groups were assessed for differences in demonstrated physical strength , mobility , body mechanics , and self-care knowledge , and in levels of self-reported exercise , anxiety , and pain . There were significant immediate gains on physical measures of fitness and in observed body mechanics ; patients also reported significant gains in physical capabilities at home and in leisure activities . Self-care knowledge also improved . When assessed one year later , original gains in physical strength and mobility were being maintained , and self-reported physical capabilities also remained high . Although demonstrated knowledge of correct body mechanics declined over this period , it was still significantly greater than before the program . In light of these results , we believe that outpatient programs like the one reported here merit careful consideration in an era of concern about rising costs for primary health care Study Design . Prospect i ve , r and omized trial . Objectives . To compare the McKenzie method of treatment of acute low back pain  with patient education in “ mini back school ” after 5 years ; the 1-year results have already been published . Summary of Background Data . The 5-year results after the initial treatment are presented in this study of 89 subjects . Included in the study were 22 women and 67 men with an average age of 39.6 ± 10.5 years ( range 22–66 years ) . Methods . Sixty-two subjects ( 70 % ) were interviewed by telephone , while the remaining 27 subjects ( 30 % ) were examined and interviewed personally . Information of sick leave was obtained from the Swedish National Health Insurance Office . Results . The results showed that subjects who received treatment according to the McKenzie principle 5 years earlier had significantly less recurrences of pain and fewer were on sick leave compared with the subjects who received education in mini back school . The other variables did not show any statistically significant differences . Conclusions . The difference between the two treatments was much less after 5 years compared with the 1-year results BACKGROUND Low back injuries are common and costly , accounting for 15 to 25 percent of injuries covered by workers ' compensation and 30 to 40 percent of the payments made under that program . The high costs of injury , the lack of effective treatment . and the evidence that there are behavioral risk factors have led to widespread use of employee education programs that teach safe lifting and h and ling . The effectiveness of those programs , however , has received little rigorous evaluation . METHODS We evaluated an educational program design ed to prevent low back injury in a r and omized , controlled trial involving about 4000 postal workers . The program , similar to that in wide use in so-called back schools , was taught by experienced physical therapists . Work units of workers and supervisors were trained in a two-session back school ( three hours of training ) , followed by three to four reinforcement sessions over the succeeding few years . Injured subjects ( from both the intervention and the control groups ) were r and omized a second time to receive either training or no training after their return to work . RESULTS Physical therapists trained 2534 postal workers and 134 supervisors . Over 5.5 years of follow-up , 360 workers reported low back injuries , for a rate of 21.2 injuries per 1000 worker-years of risk . The median time off from work per injury was 14 days ( range , 0 to 1717 ) ; the median cost was $ 204 ( range , zero to $ 190,380 ) . After their return to work , 75 workers were injured again . Our comparison of the intervention and control groups found that the education program did not reduce the rate of low back injury , the median cost per injury , the time off from work per injury , the rate of related musculoskeletal injuries , or the rate of repeated injury after return to work ; only the subjects ' knowledge of safe behavior was increased by the training . CONCLUSIONS A large-scale , r and omized , controlled trial of an educational program to prevent work-associated low back injury found no long-term benefits associated with training & NA ; The current investigation studied the effectiveness of a secondary prevention program for nurses with back pain who were deemed at risk for developing a chronic problem . A 2 × 3 repeated measures design was employed with 2 groups and 3 assessment periods . The treatment group received an intervention design ed to reduce current problems , but above all to prevent reinjury and minor pains from becoming chronic medical problems , and it included a physical and behavioral therapy package . The control group was placed on a waiting‐list . Results indicated that the treatment group had significantly greater improvements than the control group for pain intensity , anxiety , sleep quality and fatigue ratings , observed pain behavior , activities , mood , and helplessness . These differences were generally maintained at the 6 month follow‐up . In addition , the treatment group broke a trend for increasing amounts of pain‐related absenteeism , while the control group did not . Taken as a whole , the results suggest that a secondary prevention program aim ed at altering life style factors may represent an effective method for dealing with musculoskeletal pain problems A prospect i ve controlled study of the effect of the  Swedish Back School  in chronic idiopathic Low Back Pain was conducted . Forty-eight patients entered the study . There were no significant pre-treatment differences between the experimental group members who attended the four lessons of the Back School , and the control group who received four detuned shortwave applications to the low back .  Forty-three patients ( 21 in the experimental and 22 in the control group ) completed the study . Subjects were repeatedly tested for one year . The following assessment s were made : 1 ) subjective scores of pain and functional capacity , and 2 ) objective measurements of spinal mobility . After one year , no statistically significant differences between the two groups were observed . Given the proven efficacy of the Back School in (sub)acute Low Back Pain , it should be administered when it is most beneficial , i.e. in the early phase of Low Back Pain Study Design This study involved a post‐test only , control group design . Objectives To analyze the learning effects of back education programs ( video and classroom learning ) . Summary of Background Data Previous research has examined lost work time and workers ' compensation costs but has not addressed the learning effects of back schools . This study used the American Back School as the education intervention . The American Back School teaches students to maintain the lumbar lordosis while lifting . Methods The subjects ( n = 205 ) were assigned to three groups through modified r and omization . Three employees who previously sustained low back injury were placed in the back school group . The back school group , Group I , ( n = 74 ) attended a back school program that included cognitive learning strategies and practice in correct lifting . A video group , Group II , ( n = 64 ) viewed a similar program that consisted of spinal anatomy and biomechanics and instruction in correct lifting technique . A control group , Group III , ( n = 67 ) received no back education . One week after the education intervention , 145 of the subjects from the three groups had the lumbar lordosis measured with a flexible ruler while assuming a lifting position . The ruler was placed over the lumbar spinous processes , and the lordotic angle was calculated . A 12‐item multiple choice test and a 10‐item Likert scale were administered to 199 of the subjects in the three groups to determine the cognitive learning effect and the perceived relevance of the program , respectively . Results Multivariate analysis of variance was used and demonstrated significant differences between the back school group and the control group on the cognitive , psychomotor , and affective measures at the 0.001 level . No significant differences were found between the video and control groups on the measures with additional univariate testing . Conclusions The results indicate that the back school is an effective tool for influencing lifting posture and conveying information regarding spinal mechanics and lifting technique . In addition , the back school videos may not be an effective means of preventing  low back injury The use of an education program for patients with chronic low back pain ( Back School ) has been investigated . The effect evaluation is based on a pretest-post-test-control group design , including a follow-up after 8 weeks . The Maastricht Back School is based on the theory that pain is also maintained by emotional , cognitive and environmental factors . Information and training are given on these and physical factors . The purpose of the course is to teach patients to manage their own pain problem . The results suggest that the Back School program for patients with chronic low back pain can have a positive effect
target: According to the conclusions of the review s there is limited to strong evidence for the effectiveness of back schools for chronic back pain .
  Summarizing the results of the given evidence based recommendations it is concluded that back schools at work sites and back schools with intensive training is effective .
  Eine Metaanalyse errechnet große Effekte für Verhaltensänderungen und Kenntnisgewinn , die and ere größere Effekte für Rückenschulen als Teil von umfassenden Rehabilitationsprogrammen , 2 der Expertenkommissionen sehen keine Evidenz für die Wirksamkeit von Rückenschulen , 3 sehen die Wirksamkeit bei akuten Beschwerden bzw .
background: Summary Back schools are high frequency-low cost interventions .
  Their effectiveness has lately been regarded with skepticism .
  The variety of back school programs makes an over-all evaluation difficult .
  The number of evaluative publications has increased dramatically during the last 10 years , including 18 r and omized controlled trials .
  Results of these studies have been contradictory .