Article Text
Abstract
Objective To investigate whether general group exercise (GGE) offers the same outcomes compared with a specific spinal group exercise (SSGE) for chronic low back pain (CLBP) in a military population.
Design Retrospective service evaluation using routine service activity data.
Setting A UK military rehabilitation centre.
Participants A total of 106 patients with CLBP.
Interventions Three-week intensive (5 days per week, 15-day intervention) rehabilitation course for patients with CLBP. Six SSGE groups (n=64); CLBP only. Six GGE groups (n=42); CLBP patients grouped with chronic lower limb (LL) injuries.
Outcome measures Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Numerical Pain-Rating Scores and the Modified Multi-Stage Fitness Test (Mod-MSFT). Long-term effects were measured by Medical Employment Standard (MES) status and physiotherapy follow-up at 3 and 12 months.
Results A between-group analysis showed no significant difference in GGE compared with SSGE. Mean changes (SD) in pain were −2.71±2.35 and −1.20±1.99 (p=0.018), ODI were −3.6±5.7 and −4±8.5 respectively (p=0.649) and Mod-MSFT 28.4±30.8 and 29.7±31.7 respectively (p=0.792). At 3 months, a greater proportion of the GGE were having ongoing physiotherapy; GGE=50%, SSGE=30.2%, (p=0.016) although some differences were evident across MES with 32.5 % of GGE compared with 20.6 % of SSGE being medically fit with no restrictions. At 12 months, groups were largely comparable for follow-up physiotherapy and MES; 22.5% of GGE and 20.6% of SSGE continued to have physiotherapy input; 47.5% of GGE and 50.8% of SSGE were medically fit with no restrictions.
Conclusion Patients with CLBP who completed a 3-week rehabilitation programme had comparable outcomes when grouped with patients with LL, although only improvements in pain in the GGE group achieved a meaningful change. Further evaluation of potential costs and savings to service costs is now required.
- chronic low back pain
- group therapy
- exercise
- service evaluation
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Footnotes
Contributors JS and NRH: service evaluation design, analysis and manuscript development. JS: data extraction and analysis.
Funding The author received no specific grant from any funding agency in the commercial, public or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent Not required.
Ethics approval School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.