Low-dose, non-supervised, health insurance initiated exercise for the treatment and prevention of chronic low back pain in employees. Results from a randomized controlled trial.

<h4>Objective</h4>Back pain is a major problem requiring pragmatic interventions, low in costs for health care providers and feasible for individuals to perform. Our objective was to test the effectiveness of a low-dose 5-month exercise intervention with small personnel investment on low...

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Main Authors: Sven Haufe, Klaus Wiechmann, Lothar Stein, Momme Kück, Andrea Smith, Stefan Meineke, Yvonne Zirkelbach, Samuel Rodriguez Duarte, Michael Drupp, Uwe Tegtbur
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2017-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0178585&type=printable
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author Sven Haufe
Klaus Wiechmann
Lothar Stein
Momme Kück
Andrea Smith
Stefan Meineke
Yvonne Zirkelbach
Samuel Rodriguez Duarte
Michael Drupp
Uwe Tegtbur
author_facet Sven Haufe
Klaus Wiechmann
Lothar Stein
Momme Kück
Andrea Smith
Stefan Meineke
Yvonne Zirkelbach
Samuel Rodriguez Duarte
Michael Drupp
Uwe Tegtbur
author_sort Sven Haufe
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Objective</h4>Back pain is a major problem requiring pragmatic interventions, low in costs for health care providers and feasible for individuals to perform. Our objective was to test the effectiveness of a low-dose 5-month exercise intervention with small personnel investment on low back strength and self-perceived pain.<h4>Methods</h4>Two hundred twenty-six employees (age: 42.7±10.2 years) from three mid-size companies were randomized to 5-month non-supervised training at home (3 times/week for 20 minutes) or wait-list-control. Health insurance professionals instructed the participants on trunk exercises at the start and then supervised participants once a month.<h4>Results</h4>Muscle strength for back extension increased after the 5-month intervention with a significant between-group difference (mean 27.4 Newton [95%CI 2.2; 60.3]) favoring the exercise group (p = 0.035). Low back pain was reduced more in subjects after exercise than control (mean difference -0.74 cm [95%CI -1.17; -0.27], p = 0.002). No between-group differences were observed for back pain related disability and work ability. After stratified analysis only subjects with preexisting chronic low back pain showed a between-group difference (exercise versus controls) after the intervention in their strength for back extension (mean 55.7 Newton [95%CI 2.8; 108.5], p = 0.039), self-perceived pain (mean -1.42 cm [95%CI -2.32; -0.51], p = 0.003) and work ability (mean 2.1 points [95%CI 0.2; 4.0], p = 0.032). Significant between-group differences were not observed in subjects without low back pain: strength for back extension (mean 23.4 Newton [95%CI -11.2; 58.1], p = 0.184), self-perceived pain (mean -0.48 cm [95%CI -0.99; 0.04], p = 0.067) and work ability (mean -0.1 points [95%CI -0.9; 0.9], p = 0.999). An interaction between low back pain subgroups and the study intervention (exercise versus control) was exclusively observed for the work ability index (p = 0.016).<h4>Conclusion</h4>In middle-aged employees a low-dose, non-supervised exercise program implemented over 20 weeks improved trunk muscle strength and low back pain, and in those with preexisting chronic low back pain improved work ability.
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spelling doaj-art-4a9dbc91c045443da6f2974afdfaa0362025-08-20T02:03:55ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032017-01-01126e017858510.1371/journal.pone.0178585Low-dose, non-supervised, health insurance initiated exercise for the treatment and prevention of chronic low back pain in employees. Results from a randomized controlled trial.Sven HaufeKlaus WiechmannLothar SteinMomme KückAndrea SmithStefan MeinekeYvonne ZirkelbachSamuel Rodriguez DuarteMichael DruppUwe Tegtbur<h4>Objective</h4>Back pain is a major problem requiring pragmatic interventions, low in costs for health care providers and feasible for individuals to perform. Our objective was to test the effectiveness of a low-dose 5-month exercise intervention with small personnel investment on low back strength and self-perceived pain.<h4>Methods</h4>Two hundred twenty-six employees (age: 42.7±10.2 years) from three mid-size companies were randomized to 5-month non-supervised training at home (3 times/week for 20 minutes) or wait-list-control. Health insurance professionals instructed the participants on trunk exercises at the start and then supervised participants once a month.<h4>Results</h4>Muscle strength for back extension increased after the 5-month intervention with a significant between-group difference (mean 27.4 Newton [95%CI 2.2; 60.3]) favoring the exercise group (p = 0.035). Low back pain was reduced more in subjects after exercise than control (mean difference -0.74 cm [95%CI -1.17; -0.27], p = 0.002). No between-group differences were observed for back pain related disability and work ability. After stratified analysis only subjects with preexisting chronic low back pain showed a between-group difference (exercise versus controls) after the intervention in their strength for back extension (mean 55.7 Newton [95%CI 2.8; 108.5], p = 0.039), self-perceived pain (mean -1.42 cm [95%CI -2.32; -0.51], p = 0.003) and work ability (mean 2.1 points [95%CI 0.2; 4.0], p = 0.032). Significant between-group differences were not observed in subjects without low back pain: strength for back extension (mean 23.4 Newton [95%CI -11.2; 58.1], p = 0.184), self-perceived pain (mean -0.48 cm [95%CI -0.99; 0.04], p = 0.067) and work ability (mean -0.1 points [95%CI -0.9; 0.9], p = 0.999). An interaction between low back pain subgroups and the study intervention (exercise versus control) was exclusively observed for the work ability index (p = 0.016).<h4>Conclusion</h4>In middle-aged employees a low-dose, non-supervised exercise program implemented over 20 weeks improved trunk muscle strength and low back pain, and in those with preexisting chronic low back pain improved work ability.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0178585&type=printable
spellingShingle Sven Haufe
Klaus Wiechmann
Lothar Stein
Momme Kück
Andrea Smith
Stefan Meineke
Yvonne Zirkelbach
Samuel Rodriguez Duarte
Michael Drupp
Uwe Tegtbur
Low-dose, non-supervised, health insurance initiated exercise for the treatment and prevention of chronic low back pain in employees. Results from a randomized controlled trial.
PLoS ONE
title Low-dose, non-supervised, health insurance initiated exercise for the treatment and prevention of chronic low back pain in employees. Results from a randomized controlled trial.
title_full Low-dose, non-supervised, health insurance initiated exercise for the treatment and prevention of chronic low back pain in employees. Results from a randomized controlled trial.
title_fullStr Low-dose, non-supervised, health insurance initiated exercise for the treatment and prevention of chronic low back pain in employees. Results from a randomized controlled trial.
title_full_unstemmed Low-dose, non-supervised, health insurance initiated exercise for the treatment and prevention of chronic low back pain in employees. Results from a randomized controlled trial.
title_short Low-dose, non-supervised, health insurance initiated exercise for the treatment and prevention of chronic low back pain in employees. Results from a randomized controlled trial.
title_sort low dose non supervised health insurance initiated exercise for the treatment and prevention of chronic low back pain in employees results from a randomized controlled trial
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0178585&type=printable
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