Effects of Subacute Versus Chronic Status of Low Back Pain Patients' Response to a Functional Restoration Program

This study evaluated various functional capacity measures in two cohorts of patients participating in a functional restoration program: 1) subacute patients (defined as being admitted to the program within 1/2 year of injury), and 2) chronic patients (defined as being admitted after 1/2 year of injury). The main aim was to evaluate the differential effects of subacute versus chronic intervention functional outcomes of low back pain patients who participated in a functional restoration program. Findings clearly demonstrated that, compared to the chronic intervention group (n = 170), the subacute intervention group (n = 110) displayed greater functional performance gains in various tasks (e.g., range of motion, lifting capacity, etc.). These findings are consistent with recent suggestions in the literature that early intervention will produce greater therapeutic improvement in low back pain patients, with resultant health-care cost savings. Additional research is needed to further evaluate the utility of distinguishing among acute, subacute, and chronic patients as a means of predicting the degree of functional gains produced by intervention.