Effect of Back School and Supervised Walking in Sedentary Women With Chronic Low Back Pain

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Do Back School and/or supervised walking improve reported pain and spine flexibility in sedentary women with chronic low back pain (LBP)?

Detailed Description
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From August 2002 to March 2004, one hundred nineteen volunteers sedentary women with chronic LBP and age ranging from 32 to 60 years old, randomly allocated to four groups of participants assigned as Back School (BS; N=28), Supervised Walking (W; N=32), Back School and Supervised Walking (BS+W; N=29), and Control Group (CG; N=30) were submitted to interventions once a week for 5 consecutive weeks and followed for up to 6 months. The groups BS, W, and BS+W received LBP-targeted lectures and on-place practical sessions of each respective intervention. CG received print information about LBP and 5 different lectures unrelated to LBP.

Official Title
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Effect of Back School and Supervised Walking in Sedentary Women With Chronic Low Back Pain: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Conditions
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Chronic Low Back Pain

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Back School Intervention
* Behavioral: Supervised Walking Intervention
* Behavioral: Back School and Walking
* Behavioral: Control Group


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Age range 30 to 60 years old LBP without any known organic cause for at least 3 months of duration Less than 90 minutes per week of regular physical activity of any intensity Exclusion Criteria: Any known organic cause of LBP

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 30 Years
Maximum Age: 60 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Other: Back School<br>Participants received weekly sessions of 45 minutes including: 15-minute lectures about basics of spine's anatomy, ergonomics, techniques of lifting and transportation of weights and volumes, body posture in several daily tasks and situations, and spine preventive care; 30 minutes of on-place supervised exercises for posture and spine flexibility (muscle stretching, relaxation, strengthening) | Behavioral: Back School Intervention<br>* Patients were submitted once a week for 5 consecutive weeks to sessions of 45 minutes including: 15-minute lectures about basics of spine's anatomy, ergonomics, techniques of lifting and transportation of weights and volumes, body posture in several daily tasks and situations, and spine preventive care; 30 minutes of on-place supervised exercises for posture and spine flexibility (muscle stretching, relaxation, strengthening)<br>* Other names: BS;|
| Other: Supervised Walking<br>Participants received weekly sessions of 45 minutes including: 15-minute lectures about basics of physical activity, its advantages and benefits, barriers and facilitators, types and opportunities; 30 minutes of on-place supervised walking in group | Behavioral: Supervised Walking Intervention<br>* Patients were submitted once a week for 5 consecutive weeks to sessions of 45 minutes including: 15-minute lectures about basics of physical activity, its advantages and benefits, barriers and facilitators, types and opportunities; 30 minutes of on-place supervised walking in group.<br>* Other names: W;|
| Other: Back School and Walking<br>Participants received weekly sessions of 90 minutes including: 30-minute lectures about basics of spine's anatomy, ergonomics, techniques of lifting and transportation of weights and volumes, body posture in several daily tasks and situations, spine preventive care, and about physical activity, its advantages and benefits, barriers and facilitators, types and opportunities; 30 minutes of on-place supervised exercises for posture and spine flexibility (muscle stretching, relaxation, strengthening); 30 minutes of on-place supervised walking in group | Behavioral: Back School and Walking<br>* Weekly sessions of 90 minutes including: 30-minute lectures about basics of spine's anatomy, ergonomics, techniques of lifting and transportation of weights and volumes, body posture in several daily tasks and situations, spine preventive care, and about physical activity, its advantages and benefits, barriers and facilitators, types and opportunities<br>* Other names: BS+W;|
| Other: Control Group<br>Participants received weekly sessions of 45 minutes including lectures about: stress control, healthy nutrition (2 lectures), sleep hygiene and injury prevention; beside the 2-page folder content this group received no other information about LBP, BS or walking all along the follow-up. | Behavioral: Control Group<br>* Weekly sessions of 45 minutes including lectures about: stress control, healthy nutrition (2 lectures), sleep hygiene and injury prevention.; beside the 2-page folder content this group received no other information about LBP, BS or walking all along the follow-up.<br>* Other names: CG;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Intensity of Low Back Pain (LBP) Self-Estimated by Visual Analogical Scale (VAS) | Patients were asked to indicate their perception about their LBP intensity with a cross on a line without marks, ranging from 1 (very light pain) through 10 (very strong pain) | 6 months | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Spine Flexibility (3rd Fingertip to Floor - 3FF). | Patients in up-right position with joined feet and stretched out arms were asked to bend the spine as much as possible without bending the knees; the least achieved distance between the 3rd fingertip and the floor was measured in centimeters with a proper rule. | 6 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Chronic low back pain, Back School, Walking, Physical activity