Availability, evidence, and quality of mobile health applications for the treatment of nonspecific low back pain in the German speaking area: A systematic assessment
Creators: name: Ulrich, Lauro
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Physiotherapy
subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
subject: Rehabilitation and Therapy
subject: Apps
subject: Electronic health
subject: Mobile health
subject: Nonspecific low back pain

description: The various forms of low back pain occur very frequently in the population. 85% of the German population experiences it at least once in a lifetime [1]. This leads to high socio-economic importance. The costs caused by non-specific low back pain amounted to 3.6 billion euros in 2008. Chronic low back pain and the resulting loss of work performance play a decisive role in this [2]. The average costs per patient and year in Germany are 1322€ [3]. Furthermore, affected patients have high levels of suffering, and are afraid to lose participation in meaningful activities [4]. The German guideline for the management of nonspecific low back pain recommends treatment approaches which involve the promotion of activity to patients [5]. There is evidence available showing the efficacy of treatments based on mobile applications [6]–[9]. Nonetheless, the range of available apps in the stores is hardly regulated and therefore the quality may vary a lot [10]. Systematic reviews on the availability of mobile applications for the treatment of low back pain have been made [11]–[13]. However, not for Germany or the German speaking area. The aim of this assessment is therefore to create an overview of the availability and quality of such applications. This should help clinicians to advise their patients with nonspecific low back pain. [1] C. O. Schmidt u. a., „Back Pain in the German Adult Population: Prevalence, Severity, and Sociodemographic Correlates in a Multiregional Survey“, Spine, Bd. 32, Nr. 18, S. 2005–2011, Aug. 2007, doi: 10.1097/BRS.0b013e318133fad8. [2] H. Raspe, „Themenheft 53 ‚Rückenschmerzen‘“, Gesundheitsberichterstattung-Hefte, Nr. 53. Robert Koch-Institut, S. 36, 2012. [3] C. M. Wenig, C. O. Schmidt, T. Kohlmann, und B. Schweikert, „Costs of back pain in Germany“, Eur. J. Pain, Bd. 13, Nr. 3, S. 280–286, 2009, doi: 10.1016/j.ejpain.2008.04.005. [4] R. Froud u. a., „A systematic review and meta-synthesis of the impact of low back pain on people’s lives“, BMC Musculoskelet. Disord., Bd. 15, Nr. 1, S. 50, Feb. 2014, doi: 10.1186/1471-2474-15-50. [5] Arzneimittelkommission Der Deutschen Ärzteschaft (AkdÄ) u. a., Nationale VersorgungsLeitlinie Nicht-spezifischer Kreuzschmerz – Langfassung, 2. Auflage. Bundesärztekammer (BÄK); Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung (KBV); Arbeitsgemeinschaft der Wissenschaftlichen Medizinischen Fachgesellschaften (AWMF), 2017. doi: 10.6101/AZQ/000353. [6] S. Huber, J. A. Priebe, K.-M. Baumann, A. Plidschun, C. Schiessl, und T. R. Tölle, „Treatment of Low Back Pain with a Digital Multidisciplinary Pain Treatment App: Short-Term Results“, JMIR Rehabil. Assist. Technol., Bd. 4, Nr. 2, S. e11, Dez. 2017, doi: 10.2196/rehab.9032. [7] T. R. Toelle, D. A. Utpadel-Fischler, K.-K. Haas, und J. A. Priebe, „App-based multidisciplinary back pain treatment versus combined physiotherapy plus online education: a randomized controlled trial“, NPJ Digit. Med., Bd. 2, S. 34, 2019, doi: 10.1038/s41746-019-0109-x. [8] J. A. Priebe u. a., „Digital Treatment of Back Pain versus Standard of Care: The Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial, Rise-uP“, J. Pain Res., Bd. 13, S. 1823–1838, 2020, doi: 10.2147/JPR.S260761. [9] R. N. Moman u. a., „A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Unguided Electronic and Mobile Health Technologies for Chronic Pain-Is It Time to Start Prescribing Electronic Health Applications?“, Pain Med. Malden Mass, Bd. 20, Nr. 11, S. 2238–2255, Nov. 2019, doi: 10.1093/pm/pnz164. [10] Ärztliches Zentrum Für Qualität In Der Medizin (ÄZQ), Gesundheits-Apps im klinischen Alltag: Handreichung für Ärztinnen und Ärzte. 1. Auflage, Version 1. Bundesärztekammer (BÄK); Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung (KBV), 2020. doi: 10.6101/AZQ/000474. [11] G. C. Machado u. a., „Smartphone apps for the self-management of low back pain: A systematic review.“, Best Pract. Res. Clin. Rheumatol., Bd. 30, Nr. 6, S. 1098–1109, Dez. 2016, doi: 10.1016/j.berh.2017.04.002. [12] C. Didyk, L. K. Lewis, und B. Lange, „Availability, content and quality of commercially available smartphone applications for the self-management of low back pain: a systematic assessment“, Disabil. Rehabil., S. 1–10, Okt. 2021, doi: 10.1080/09638288.2021.1979664. [13] A. Escriche-Escuder u. a., „Assessment of the Quality of Mobile Applications (Apps) for Management of Low Back Pain Using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS)“, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public. Health, Bd. 17, Nr. 24, S. E9209, Dez. 2020, doi: 10.3390/ijerph17249209.