The role of alcohol abuse in working disability in patients with low back pain

The prevalence of alcohol problems was investigated in 50 patients with chronic low back pain, and compared to an age, sex, civil status, and income matched control group. Alcohol abuse was significantly more frequent among the male low back patients. Within the patient group the use of analgesics and sedatives was not related to the degree of alcohol consumption. Alcohol problems were not found to influence the rehabilitation process negatively, probably because the rehabilitation programme was not directed to the back only. Such problems therefore should not discriminate against inclusion in a rehabilitation programme.     

Clinical and social factors in rehabilitation of patients with chronic low back pain

Physical signs, medical history and social factors were analyzed and evaluated in 52 patients (17 women and 35 men) with chronic low back pain, in order to determine if any factors were predictive for return to work after rehabilitation. Factors discriminating between the working and sick-disabled groups were: Sex (only men returned to full time work), Duration of sick-leave (the older half of the study population exhibited a negative correlation between time on sick-leave and frequency of return to work), Reported need for analgesics (the working group reported less need of analgesics), Pain in the cervical and dorsal areas of the spine as well as in the lumbar region (less frequent in the working group), The patients' attitude to his own ADL-capacity (those who returned to full-time work were more positive), After work fatigue (less frequent in the working group).     

Work and back pain: A prospective study of psychological,social and mechanical predictors of back pain severity

Studies relating occupational psychological and social factors to back pain have traditionally investigated a small number of exposure factors. The current study explored longitudinally a comprehensive set of specific psychological/social and mechanical work factors as predictors of back pain severity (defined as the product of back pain intensity and duration). Employees from 28 organizations in Norway, representing a wide variety of occupations, were surveyed with a follow‐up period of 2 years. Several designs were tested: (1) cross‐sectional analyses at baseline and follow‐up; (2) prospective analyses with baseline exposure; (3) prospective analyses with average exposure over time [(T1+T2)/2]; and (4) prospective analyses with measures of change in exposure from T1 to T2. A total of 2808 employees responded at both time points. Fourteen psychological/social and two mechanical exposures were measured. Odds ratios (ORs) were computed by ordinal logistic regressions. Several psychological/social factors predicted back pain severity. After adjustment for age, sex, skill level, back pain severity at T1 and other exposure factors estimated to be potential confounders, the most consistent predictors of back pain were the protective factors decision control [lowest OR 0.68; 99% confidence interval (CI): 0.49–0.95], empowering leadership (lowest OR 0.59; 99% CI: 0.38–0.91) and fair leadership (lowest OR 0.54; 99% CI: 0.34–0.87). Some of the most important predictors included in this study were factors that have previously received little attention in back pain research. This emphasizes the importance of extending the list of factors possibly contributing to back pain.     

Determinants of vocational disability in patients with low back pain

Eighty-seven unemployed subjects with low back pain were recruited from an orthopedic back pain clinic and were given a battery of physical and psychologic tests. Subjects were contacted six months later to determine their current compensation status and whether they had returned to work. Age, length of time out of work, how much they had lifted in their previous job, the number of weeks they had been compensated, current activity levels, leg pain, and various psychologic factors significantly differentiated those who worked from those who did not. Physical examination findings and testing of the ability to lift were not significantly related to return to work. It is suggested that demographic, job-related, and psychologic factors should be emphasized, rather than only physical capacity, in the evaluation of vocational potential and the assessment of disability in patients with low back pain.     

Perceived disability but not pain is connected with autonomic nervous function among patients with chronic low back pain.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of cardiovascular autonomic balance with perceived functional impairment and pain among patients with chronic low back pain. DESIGN: A cross-sectional analysis of working patients with chronic low back pain. PATIENTS: Forty-six consecutive patients aged 24-45 years with chronic low back pain fulfilling the inclusion criteria. A total of 39 subjects had technically acceptable electrocardiographic recordings during periods of rest and standard provocations. METHODS: Perceived functional disability was assessed with the Oswestry disability index and pain with a numerical rating scale. Autonomic nervous function was assessed by measuring heart rate variability with short recordings. RESULTS: The total power of heart rate variability was lower among those with moderate perceived disability (Oswestry 20-40%) compared with those with minimal disability (Oswestry < 20%). However, heart rate variability did not differ significantly among those with numerical rating scale values < or = 5/10 from those with values > 5/10. The power of the high-frequency component (0.15-0.4 Hz) of heart rate variability was lower among those with moderate perceived functional impairment. CONCLUSION: A significant association existed between heart rate variability and perceived physical impairment, but not between heart rate variability and pain. Proportionally reduced high-frequency activity was found to reflect decreased parasympathetic activity or increased sympathetic activity. This resulted in sympathetic dominance among the patients with higher subjective disability. The possible clinical implications of this observation are discussed.     

The relationship between pain,disability, quality of life and cognitive-behavioural factors in chronic back pain

Purpose: This pilot study systematically examined the correlations between the outcome variables pain intensity, disability and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and between these outcomes and known psychological risk factors for chronic low back pain (CLBP), such as depression, trait anxiety, avoidance- and endurance-related pain responses at two different assessment points. Method: Data from 52 CLBP inpatients treated in an orthopedic clinic were investigated at two points in time: during the first days after admission and 6 months after the termination of the inpatient treatment. Bivariate relationships between pain intensity, disability, HRQOL and psychological variables were examined with the help of Pearson product moment correlations. Furthermore, the differences that exist between correlations at baseline and follow-up were tested for significance. Results: Significant and large differences were found between the correlations with low correlations at baseline and high correlations at the follow-up. Furthermore, HRQOL showed a positive correlation with endurance-related and a negative correlation with avoidance-related pain responses. Conclusions: Focusing on a systematic comparison of two significant assessment time points in CLBP with an acute exacerbation at baseline, the results of this study underlined the recurrent course of LBP. The results highlight that the assessment time points play an important role in CLBP.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Low back pain is a major public health problem with high direct and indirect back-pain-related costs.

• Chronic low back pain is a disabling disease which restricts quality of life.

• Psychological factors may have a larger impact on disability and quality of life than pain itself.

• The recurrent course of low back pain highlights the importance of multidisciplinary pain management even during acute exacerbations of pain.

     

The relationship between pain, disability, quality of life and cognitive-behavioural factors in chronic back pain

Purpose: This pilot study systematically examined the correlations between the outcome variables pain intensity, disability and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and between these outcomes and known psychological risk factors for chronic low back pain (CLBP), such as depression, trait anxiety, avoidance- and endurance-related pain responses at two different assessment points. Method: Data from 52 CLBP inpatients treated in an orthopedic clinic were investigated at two points in time: during the first days after admission and 6 months after the termination of the inpatient treatment. Bivariate relationships between pain intensity, disability, HRQOL and psychological variables were examined with the help of Pearson product moment correlations. Furthermore, the differences that exist between correlations at baseline and follow-up were tested for significance. Results: Significant and large differences were found between the correlations with low correlations at baseline and high correlations at the follow-up. Furthermore, HRQOL showed a positive correlation with endurance-related and a negative correlation with avoidance-related pain responses. Conclusions: Focusing on a systematic comparison of two significant assessment time points in CLBP with an acute exacerbation at baseline, the results of this study underlined the recurrent course of LBP. The results highlight that the assessment time points play an important role in CLBP. [Box: see text].     

Goals matter: Both achievement and pain-avoidance goals are associated with pain severity and disability in patients with low back and upper extremity pain

It has been proposed that goal pursuit plays a role in the development of chronic pain disorders. On the basis of (affective) motivational theories, it was hypothesized that both long-term achievement goals and short-term hedonic goals would be related to increased levels of pain and disability, particularly in patients with high negative affect. Participants with musculoskeletal pain complaints (N = 299) completed a battery of questionnaires including a novel goal pursuit questionnaire (GPQ) measuring the extent to which participants preferred hedonic goals (mood-management or pain-avoidance goals) over achievement goals in various situations. Explorative factor analysis of the GPQ resulted in a reliable pain-avoidance (α = .88) and mood-management subscale (α = .76). A nonlinear, U-shaped relationship was found among the pain-avoidance scale (but not the mood-management scale) and pain and disability. This indicated that participants who strongly endorsed either achievement or pain-avoidance goals also reported higher pain and disability levels while controlling for biographical variables and pain catastrophizing. For pain but not disability, these relationships were only found among patients with high negative affect. For disability, goal pursuit and negative affect were independently related to disability. These findings provide support for the validity of an affective-motivational approach to chronic pain, suggesting that the experience of pain and the interference of pain on daily life activities depends on goal pursuit and negative affect. Interventions aimed at improving disability in chronic pain should address both patient’s goal pursuit and negative affect.     

A comparison of low back pain patients in the United States and New Zealand: Psychosocial and economic factors affecting severity of disability

One hundred and ninety-eight patients suffering from chronic low back pain seen at the University of Virginia (U.S.) Pain Center and 117 similar patients seen at the Auckland Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand (N.Z.) Pain Clinic completed a self-report questionnaire prior to beginning comparable outpatient treatment programs. Approximately 55% of the sample from each country returned a follow-up questionnaire 1 year later. Analyses of the results indicated that despite nearly similar between-country reports of pain frequency and intensity, the U.S. patients, both at pre- and post-testing, reported greater emotional and behavioral disruption as a correlate of their pain. U.S. patients consistently used more medication, experienced more disphoric mood states, and were more hampered in social-sexual, recreational, and vocational functioning. Patients from both countries demonstrated a nearly equal degree of pre- to post-improvement; however, the relative initial differences favoring the New Zealanders remained constant across both questionnaire administrations. At the onset of treatment, 49% of the U.S. sample and only 17% of the N.Z. patients were receiving pain-related financial compensation. At follow-up, patients from both countries receiving pretreatment compensation were less likely to report a return to full activity, although the relationship appeared more pronounced in U.S. patients. Seemingly, compared to the U.S., the N.Z. compensation-disability system is used less, or for shorter durations of time, resulting in less severe life-style disruption than appears to be the case in the U.S. patients. Seemingly, compared to the U.S., the N.Z. compensation-disability system is used less, or for shorter durations of time. resulting in less severe life-style disruption than appears to be the case in the U.S.     

Prognostic factors, disability, and functional status among patients in a headache specialty practice

The objective of this study was to identify prognostic factors and assess functional status over time among patients in a headache specialty practice. Study questionnaires were mailed to 599 patients who previously presented to a headache specialty practice. Outcome measures included headache frequency, the Headache Impact Test (HIT) and the SF-36 Health Survey. Completed surveys were received from 333 respondents (56%). Thirty-five respondents (11%) had HIT scores in the 'little or no impact' range at follow-up and 191 (57%) had HIT scores in the 'severe impact' range. A diagnosis of migraine at baseline was an independent predictor of elevated HIT scores at follow-up, but gender, age, age at headache onset, daily headache at baseline, and time to follow-up did not predict poor prognosis. A subset of headache patients continue to experience marked disability and impaired functional status, months to years after presenting for headache specialty care. A diagnosis of migraine at the time of presentation may predict prognosis, but additional cohort studies with careful attention to baseline variables are needed to help identify other prognostic factors.     

Responsiveness of pain, active range of motion, and disability in patients with acute nonspecific low back pain

Many parameters are now used for investigations in clinical settings, such as pain, active range of motion (AROM), and disability, but it is not yet known which parameters are responsive in patients with acute nonspecific low back pain (LBP). This study aimed to investigate the responsiveness of pain, AROM, and disability in patients with acute nonspecific LBP. Fifty subjects were assessed for pain, AROM, and disability at baseline and after 6 weeks. The effect size (ES) was calculated for each parameter. Also, patient’s perception of change was collected after 6 weeks for correlating it with change scores for each parameter. The most responsive parameter for detecting the change in patients with acute nonspecific LBP was pain (ES, 1.57) and disability (ES, 0.93). However, AROM was proved to be less responsive. This study indicated that pain and disability were responsive in detecting the changes in patients with acute nonspecific LBP over time.     

Predictive factors for 1-year and 5-year outcome for disability in a working population of patients with low back pain treated in primary care

Many patients seeking primary care for low back pain continue to report disability several years after their initial visit. The aims of this study were to assess the independent predictive value of a number of potential predictive factors for disability at the 1-year and 5-year follow-ups, and to examine whether prediction models were improved by replacing baseline health-state-related variables with corresponding variables after treatment. A further aim was to describe possible differences between those on sick leave, early retirement or disability pension, and those who were not. Baseline factors were age, gender, self-reported physical-activity-related and work-related factors, expectations of treatment, similar problems previously, duration of episode, more than one localization, sick leave, pain frequency, disability, and well-being. The study sample comprised 148 participants in a previous randomized trial who were eligible for sick-leave benefits. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify predictive factors. At the 5-year follow-up, 37% (n=19/52) of the patients with disability were on sick leave or were receiving early retirement or disability pension. For those without disability the corresponding figure was 9% (n=8/92). Being a woman, duration of the current episode, similar problems during the previous 5 years, exercise level before the current episode, pain frequency at baseline, and disability after treatment emerged as predictive factors for disability at the 5-year follow-up. Replacing baseline health-state-related measures with corresponding measures after the treatment period, and adding physical-activity-related and possibly work-related factors might improve the likelihood of predicting future disability.     

颈腰痛患者肌肉骨骼疾患知识知晓率及影响因素分析

[摘要] 目的：了解颈腰痛患者肌肉骨骼疾患（Musculoskeletal Disorders, MSDs）知识的知晓率及影响因素。方法：对2014年6－11月在某医院康复科接受治疗的病人进行问卷调查。调查内容包括个人信息、患病情况和20道MSDs知识测试题。统计分析：采用logistic回归分析方法,分别以各测试题回答正确与否为因变量,以性别、年龄分组、文化程度、职业、人均收入、疼痛程度、因MSDs就医次数为自变量,分析MSDs相关知识水平的影响因素。结果：293名颈腰痛患参加了本次调查,其中男性129人,女性164人。调查对象对MSDs相关测试题回答正确率为49.5%。影响MSDs知识水平的因素有文化程度、因MSD就医次数的、人均收入、疼痛程度、年龄、职业。结论：颈腰痛患者MSDs相关知识普及程度低,需要健康工作者有针对性引导来加以提高。 Analysis for knowledge awareness of musculoskeletal disorders and its influence factors among patients with neck or low back pain Zhang Qing1, Ma Junyang2, Ling Ruijie3, Wu Jiabing4, Cheng Yu2 1. Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Shiyan city; 2. Xiyuan hospital of Shiyan city; 3.Xinhua Hospital of Hubei Province; 4.Institute for Occupational diseases prevention and treatment of Shiyan city. [Abstract] Objective: To explore the knowledge awareness of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and its influence factors among patients with neck or low back pain. Methods: A questionnaire survey was conducted among patients with neck or low back pain at rehabilitation department of a hospital of Shiyan city, between June and November in 2014. Demographic and health information of the participants was collected using the questionnaire. Twenty questions on the questionnaire were designed to determine the awareness of participants about the knowledge of MSDs. Logistic regressions were used to analyze every question and their influence factors, including gender, age group, education, job category, personal income, degree of pain, and times of accessing doctor for MSDs. Results: A total of 293 patients(male 129, female 164) participated in the survey. The awareness rate was 49.5% among the participants. The main factors that influence the level of knowledge of the subjects were education, times of accessing doctor for MSDs, personal income, degree of pain, age group, job category. Conclusion: The awareness of MSDs among patients with neck or low back pain was low, and health education was needed.     

抑郁症患者焦虑症状、应付方式与人格特征的关系

背景:焦虑和抑郁的共病率各家报道不一,在抑郁症的病理心理学上,伴有焦虑症状的抑郁症患者的应付方式与人格及其与抑郁症状的关系等基本问题并不十分清楚。目的:分析伴有焦虑症状抑郁症患者的应付方式与人格的关系。设计:病例-对照观察。单位:中南大学湘雅二医院、湖南省脑科医院。对象:选择2002-06/2003-01在中南大学湘雅二医院、湖南省脑科医院住院的抑郁症患者88例。另选择中南大学湘雅二医院、中山大学部分职工及家属、临时工、学生中健康自愿者90人为正常对照组。方法:采用抑郁自评量表、焦虑自评量表、应付方式问卷、艾森克人格问卷进行调查评估。主要观察指标:①抑郁症组与正常对照组抑郁自评量表、焦虑自评量表、应付方式问卷、艾森克人格问卷评分比较。②有焦虑症状抑郁症组和无焦虑症状抑郁症组抑郁自评量表、焦虑自评量表、应付方式问卷、艾森克人格问卷评分比较。③抑郁症组各指标相关分析和逐步回归分析结果。结果:178名入选对象均进入结果分析。①抑郁症患者抑郁自评量表、焦虑自评量表、艾森克人格问卷的精神质、神经质两个维度的得分高于正常对照组,而艾森克人格问卷的内外向维度、积极应付方式得分低于对照组。②伴有焦虑症者抑郁自评量表、焦虑自评量表、艾森克人格问卷的精神质、神经质两个维度的得分明显高于不伴焦虑症者,积极应付方式得分低于无焦虑症组。③相关、回归分析表明抑郁症状的严重程度与焦虑自评量表、艾森克人格问卷的内外向维度及积极应付方式的关系更为密切。结论:①抑郁症患者的抑郁症状、焦虑症状、精神质较明显,偏内向,情绪不稳定,较少采用积极的应付方式。②有焦虑症状的抑郁症患者其抑郁症状较严重,精神质、神经质比较明显,较少采用积极的应付方式。③较少采用积极的应付方式可纳入人格特质的内外向维度之中。     

Pain beliefs and perceived physical disability of patients with chronic low back pain

Cognitive-behavioural therapy and maintenance of exercise have emerged as major tools in the treatment of patients with chronic low back pain. Patients' beliefs about their problem may influence their uptake of and responses to particular treatment modalities. In particular, we hypothesised that patients' beliefs about the cause and treatment of pain may mediate changes in physical disability following participation in a multidisciplinary pain management programme. A cohort of 84 patients was invited to respond to booklets of self-report questionnaires prior to, immediately after and 3 months following participation in multidisciplinary pain management programmes. Questionnaires addressed subjects' beliefs about the nature and treatment of pain (Pain Beliefs Questionnaire), and their disability (Likert-modified Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire, Physical Functioning scale of the Short Form-36 Health Survey, and Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability Questionnaire). Patients with chronic low back pain who more strongly endorsed 'organic' concepts about the nature and treatment of pain reported higher levels of physical disability at baseline, and displayed greater reductions in disability following participation in the pain management programmes. Reductions in reported 'organic' pain beliefs were associated with improvements in reported disability. Endorsement of 'psychological' concepts about the nature and treatment of pain was not associated with disability. These findings support a view that patients' beliefs about the nature and treatment of their pain can change during participation in a multidisciplinary pain management programme based on cognitive-behavioural intervention. Modification of these beliefs may be associated with improvements in patients' perceptions of the level of their disability.     

Age-dependent relationships among pain, depressive symptoms, and functional disability in youth with recurrent headaches

OBJECTIVE: To assess age differences associated with depressive symptoms and functional disability in children and adolescents with recurrent headache. BACKGROUND: Research has indicated that psychological factors, especially depression, are related to the extent and nature of functional disability experienced from headaches. There is a lack of research examining how age impacts the relationship between pain, psychological factors, and activity restriction in children and adolescents with recurrent headache. METHODS: Seventy-seven participants from a pediatric neurology clinic completed self-report measures of pain intensity, depressive symptoms, and functional disability. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated a significant positive correlation between pain and functional disability, and depressive symptoms and functional disability for children. Correlations for adolescents failed to reach significance. Functional disability emerged as a mediator between headache pain and depressive symptoms for children but not for adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate potentially important age differences when examining the impact of functional disability on depressive symptoms in this sample. Findings suggest that functional disability may contribute to depressive symptoms differently for children versus adolescents with recurrent headache. Age-specific interventions that differentially focus on the specific roles that pain, depressive symptoms, and disability have for children and adolescents with recurrent headache may be warranted.