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Orthopaedic Proceedings
Vol. 96-B, Issue SUPP_4 | Pages 26 - 26
1 Feb 2014
EFFECT OF THE CONNECT COMMUNICATION SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAMME FOR PHYSIOTHERAPISTS ON CHRONIC LOW BACK PATIENTS' ADHERENCE TO HOME-BASED REHABILITATION
Lonsdale C Hall A Williams GC McDonough SM Ntoumanis N Murray A Hurley DA
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Purpose of the study and background

Physical activity and exercise therapy are among the guideline recommendations for the rehabilitation of people with chronic low back pain (CLBP ≥ 3 months); however, patient adherence is often poor. CONNECT is a theory-based communication skills training programme designed to enhance physiotherapists' support of their CLBP patients' psychological needs in order to increase adherence to their home-based rehabilitation programme.

Methods and results

The CONNECT trial [Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN63723433] included six Dublin-area public clinics and their physiotherapists (n = 24) who received eight hours of communication skills training from a psychologist [experimental group] and physiotherapists (n = 26) from six equivalent clinics who formed a treatment as usual pragmatic control condition. New patients (n = 255, 54% female) diagnosed with CLBP and receiving physiotherapy at one of these clinics completed ratings of home-based adherence at 1, 4, 12, and 24 weeks after their initial treatment session; 24 weeks was the primary endpoint. Due to the nature of the intervention, physiotherapists were aware of treatment allocation; patients and assessors were blinded. Intention to treat analysis using a linear mixed model approach indicated that patients in the experimental group rated their home-based adherence significantly higher than patients in the control condition across time-points (P = .01), but the difference was not significant at the 24-week follow-up (P > .05).

Orthopaedic Proceedings
Vol. 85-B, Issue SUPP_III | Pages 240 - 241
1 Mar 2003
RANDOMISED CONTROLLED TRIAL OF INTERFERENTIAL THERAPY AND MANIPULATIVE THERAPY FOR ACUTE LOW BACK PAIN
Hurley DA McDonough SM Moore AP Dempster M Baxter GD
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Purpose of study: To test the relative effectiveness of interferential therapy (IFT) and manipulative therapy (MT) when used as sole treatments and in combination for the management of acute low back pain (ALBP). Although IFT is the most widely used electrotherapeutic modality in Britain and Ireland for the physiotherapeutic management of patients with LBP, often in combination with MT, its evidence base is weak and limited.

Methods: In this assessor-blinded RCT, consenting subjects recruited from 4 NHS hospitals (n=240) were randomised to receive (1) MT (n=80), (2) IFT (n=80)1 or (3) combined MT and IFT (n=80), as well as a copy of the Back Book. Subjects completed the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (primary outcome), VAS, McGill Pain Questionnaire, EuroQol, SF-36 and a range of patient-related variables (secondary outcomes) at baseline, discharge (n=194, 83%), 6 months (n=166, 71%) and 12 months (n=158, 67%).

Results: There were significant improvements in all outcomes at discharge, which were not significantly different from the 6 month and 12 month values for the whole sample. Univariate analysis of covariance detected significant differences between groups in the mean adjusted change scores for SF-36 Physical Functioning (P = 0.03), Bodily Pain (P=0.04), and Mental Health (P = 0.03) scales at 12 months in favour of combined MT and IFT over MT. Although not statistically significant the trend of the change score data for the remaining pain outcomes suggested that subjects in the MT group deteriorated after discharge while those in the IFT and combined therapy groups displayed a more gradual improvement over the follow-up period, such that the MT group outcomes were poorer at 12 months.

Conclusions: The results provide some evidence for the continued use of IFT for short and long-term improvements in function and LBP particularly when used in combination with MT. However, MT alone was less effective for long-term improvements in pain.