Introduction: Non-specific chronic low back pain (CLBP) is one of the most frequent causes for patient disability and a general recurrent cause for medical consultation with high costs to public health. From rehabilitative medicine, physiotherapy is commonly offered. Although this treatment is aimed to reduce disability, pain severity and pain-related anxiety-depressive symptoms, many patients report partial improvement and recurrent intensive and disabling pain episodes. Therefore, a new approach in the treatment and rehabilitation of this pathology that takes into account psychosocial aspects that might be modulating pain is necessary. Material and methods: This project aims to assess the efficacy of two complementary interventions to standard physical therapy, such as relaxation techniques and cognitive-behavioral intervention, to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among patients with CLBP. It is hypothesized that groups receiving these complementary interventions will significantly improve their adherence to physiotherapy and the control of their pain and, ultimately, these aspects will facilitate a decreasing of pain intensity and better HRQoL. For these purposes, a pre-post longitudinal design will be carried out, with follow-up assessments at 6 and 12 months in a sample of 66 participants. This sample will be divided into: control group (physiotherapy), intervention group 1 (physiotherapy and relaxation techniques-sophrology) and intervention group 2 (physiotherapy and cognitive-behavioral intervention). Expected impact: Study results are not available yet. However, if working hypotheses are confirmed, a multidisciplinary model of care for CLBP will be empirically justified. This approach is expected to benefit HRQoL among these patients implying a significant short-mid term reduction of public health costs.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
66
Physical therapy exercise program for CLBP patients. Its goal is to reduce pain and improve patients' health-related quality of life, functional capacity and well-being.
Relaxation techniques-sophrology consists of a set of physical and relaxation exercises that include breathing methods, visualization, modification of states of consciousness, etc. with the goal to enhance balance between body and mind to improve health-related quality of life, reduce pain and foster patients' well-being.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (in combination with motivational interviewing principles) is aimed to facilitate psychological adjustment and self-management of CLBP with the ultimate goal of increasing patients' health-related quality of life and well-being.
Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron Institut de Recerca Vall d'Hebron
Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
The SF-12v2 Health Status Questionnaire (change is being assessed)
The SF-12 measures health-related quality of life including items from various domains both physical and psychological.
Time frame: Baseline, 6 and 12 months
VAS for Self-perceived Pain
Visual Analogue Scale to rate self-perceived pain. Recall period: last 4 weeks.
Time frame: Baseline, 6 and 12 months
Oswestry-15 Disability Index
The Oswestry Disability Index (aka: Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire) is a time-tested outcome assessment tool that is used to measure a patient's impairment and quality of life (i.e., how badly the pain has affected their life).
Time frame: Baseline, 6 and 12 months
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