Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31959168›Full record

Observational studyBMC musculoskeletal disorders2020

The association between believing staying active is beneficial and achieving a clinically relevant functional improvement after 52 weeks: a prospective cohort study of patients with chronic low back pain in secondary care.

Allan Riis, Emma Louise Karran, Janus Laust Thomsen, Anette Jørgensen, Søren Holst, Nanna Rolving

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03058315 (A Prospective Cohort Study With 52 Weeks Follow-up Investigating the Influence of Disease Perception on Functional Outcome Among Patients Referred From General Practice to Secondary Care for Treatment of Low Back Pain.), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 27% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT03058315 completednot on this map

A Prospective Cohort Study With 52 Weeks Follow-up Investigating the Influence of Disease Perception on Functional Outcome Among Patients Referred From General Practice to Secondary Care for Treatment of Low Back Pain.

TypeobservationalSponsorCentral Jutland Regional HospitalRan2017 to 2019Enrolled828ConditionsLow Back Pain
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Allan RiisCenter for General Practice at Aalborg University, Fyrkildevej 7, 1. sal, 9220, Aalborg, Denmark. ariis@dcm.aau.dk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7009-3025
Emma Louise KarranSchool of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, South Australia, 5001, Australia.
Janus Laust ThomsenCenter for General Practice at Aalborg University, Fyrkildevej 7, 1. sal, 9220, Aalborg, Denmark.
Anette JørgensenDiagnostic Centre, Silkeborg Regional Hospital, Falkevej 1-3, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark.
Søren HolstDiagnostic Centre, Silkeborg Regional Hospital, Falkevej 1-3, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark.
Nanna RolvingDiagnostic Centre, Silkeborg Regional Hospital, Falkevej 1-3, 8600, Silkeborg, Denmark.
Regionshospitalet Silkeborg · DKAalborg University · DKUniversity of South Australia · AU

Funding

Novo Nordisk Fonden NNF17OC0024422
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAccording to clinical guidelines, advice to stay active despite experiencing pain is recommended to patients with non-specific low back pain (LBP). However, not all patients receive guideline-concordant information and advice, and some patients still believe that activity avoidance will help them recover. The purpose was to study whether guideline-concordant beliefs among patients and other explanatory variables were associated with recovery. The main aim was to investigate whether believing staying active despite having pain is associated with a better functional outcome.

methodsThis was a prospective cohort study involving adults with non-specific LBP referred from general practices to the Spine Centre at Silkeborg Regional Hospital, Denmark. Patients reported on their beliefs about the importance of finding the cause, the importance of diagnostic imaging, perceiving to have received advice to stay active, pain duration, pain intensity, and STarT Back Tool. Agreeing to: 'An increase in pain is an indication that I should stop what I'm doing until the pain decreases' adjusted for age, gender, and education level was the primary explanatory analysis. A 30% improvement in the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) score after 52 weeks was the outcome.

results816 patients were included and 596 (73.0%) agreed that pain is a warning signal to stop being active. Among patients not considering pain as a warning signal, 80 (43.2%) had a favourable functional improvement of ≥30% on the RMDQ compared to 201 (41.2%) among patients considering pain a warning signal. No difference was found between the two groups (adjusted P = 0.542 and unadjusted P = 0.629). However, STarT Back Tool high-risk patients had a less favourable functional outcome (adjusted P = 0.003 and unadjusted P = 0.002). Chronic pain was associated with less favourable functional outcome (adjusted P < 0.001 and unadjusted P < 0.001), whereas beliefs about finding the cause, diagnostic imaging, perceiving to have received advice to stay active, or pain intensity were not significantly associated with outcome.

conclusionsHolding the single belief that pain is a warning signal to stop being active was not associated with functional outcome. However, patients characterised by having multiple psychological barriers (high-risk according to the STarT Back Tool) had a less favourable functional outcome.

trial registrationRegistered at ClinicalTrials.gov (registration number: NCT03058315), 20 February 2017.

Indexed as

AdultAgedChronic PainCohort StudiesExerciseFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansLow Back PainMaleMiddle AgedMotivationPain MeasurementProspective StudiesRecovery of FunctionSecondary Health CareDiagnostic imagingFunctional improvementLow Back painPatients’ beliefs, staying activeReferral and consultation

Identifiers

PMID31959168
PMCPMC6971991
OpenAlexW3003422432

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.