Trial reportPloS one2017
Can group-based reassuring information alter low back pain behavior? A cluster-randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Models of care for managing non-specific low back pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Effectiveness of work ability interventions on productivity: a systematic review.Journal of occupational health · 2025Pooled it
- Impact of an intersectoral universal workplace intervention on health related quality of life and wellbeing in a pragmatic cluster randomised trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Effect of a smartphone self-management digital support system for low-back pain (selfBACK) among workers with high physical work demands - secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health · 2024Trial
- Advice to remain active with arm pain reduces disability.Occupational medicine (Oxford, England) · 2023Trial
- Early occupational intervention for people with low back pain in physically demanding jobs: A randomized clinical trial.PLoS medicine · 2019Trial
- Effect of Reassuring Information About Musculoskeletal and Mental Health Complaints at the Workplace: A Cluster Randomized Trial of the atWork Intervention.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2019Trial
- Can a tailored implementation programme enhance the adoption of guideline-adherent behaviour in physiotherapists and chiropractors managing patients with low back pain? An implementation study.Implementation science communications · 2025Article
- Tensions of Low-Back Pain and Lifting; Bridging Clinical Low-Back Pain and Occupational Lifting Guidelines.Journal of occupational rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Helpful elements in a brief work-oriented intervention targeting musculoskeletal and mental health literacy.Health promotion international · 2023Article
- [Patient education for acute low back pain : Contents of pain education in patients with acute non-specific low back pain - a scoping review].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2022Article
- Comparing the New Interdisciplinary Health in Work Intervention With Conventional Monodisciplinary Welfare Interventions at Norwegian Workplaces: Protocol for a Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- Should musicians play in pain?British journal of pain · 2021Article
- A scoping review to ascertain the parameters for an evidence synthesis of psychological interventions to improve work and wellbeing outcomes among employees with chronic pain.Health psychology and behavioral medicine · 2021Article
- Attitudes and Beliefs of Primary Care Physicians Working in Saudi Arabia Regarding the Management of Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of general medicine · 2021Article
- Education as a strategy for managing occupational-related musculoskeletal pain: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2020Article
- Fear Avoidance Beliefs and Risk of Long-Term Sickness Absence: Prospective Cohort Study among Workers with Musculoskeletal Pain.Pain research and treatment · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLow back pain (LBP) is common in the population and multifactorial in nature, often involving negative consequences. Reassuring information to improve coping is recommended for reducing the negative consequences of LBP. Adding a simple non-threatening explanation for the pain (temporary muscular dysfunction) has been successful at altering beliefs and behavior when delivered with other intervention elements. This study investigates the isolated effect of this specific information on future occupational behavior outcomes when delivered to the workforce.
designA cluster-randomized controlled trial.
methodsPublically employed workers (n = 505) from 11 Danish municipality centers were randomized at center-level (cluster) to either intervention (two 1-hour group-based talks at the workplace) or control. The talks provided reassuring information together with a simple non-threatening explanation for LBP-the 'functional-disturbance'-model. Data collections took place monthly over a 1-year period using text message tracking (SMS). Primary outcomes were self-reported days of cutting down usual activities and work participation. Secondary outcomes were self-reported back beliefs, work ability, number of healthcare visits, bothersomeness, restricted activity, use of pain medication, and sadness/depression.
resultsThere was no between-group difference in the development of LBP during follow-up. Cumulative logistic regression analyses showed no between-group difference on days of cutting down activities, but increased odds for more days of work participation in the intervention group (OR = 1.83 95% CI: 1.08-3.12). Furthermore, the intervention group was more likely to report: higher work ability, reduced visits to healthcare professionals, lower bothersomeness, lower levels of sadness/depression, and positive back beliefs.
conclusionReassuring information involving a simple non-threatening explanation for LBP significantly increased the odds for days of work participation and higher work ability among workers who went on to experience LBP during the 12-month follow-up. Our results confirm the potential for public-health education for LBP, and add to the discussion of simple versus multidisciplinary interventions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.