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Long-term effects of supervised physical training in secondary prevention of low back pain

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Abstract

Background and objectives: In the last few years, several studies have focused on short-term treatment effects of exercise therapy. However, there is a lack of knowledge concerning the long-term treatment effects recorded after several years. Hence, this study was performed to investigate the short- and long-term effects of supervised physical training on functional ability, self-rated pain and disability in secondary prevention of low back pain. Methods: One hundred and eighty-three hospital employees with chronic low back pain were randomly assigned either to back school (comparison group), or three-months supervised physical training including a back school (exercise group). Various measurements of functional ability were performed and subjects completed questionnaires on self-rated pain, disability, and general well-being before treatment, immediately after intervention, and at six-months follow-up. At one-year and at ten-years follow-up participants evaluated treatment effectiveness. Results: Out of 183 employees, 148 completed the program. Participation at follow-ups ranged from 66 to 96%. Supervised physical training significantly improved muscular endurance and isokinetic strength during a six-months follow-up, and effectively decreased self-rated pain and disability during a one-year follow-up. At ten-years follow-up the subjects’ assessment of the effectiveness of treatment was significantly better in the exercise group. Conclusions: Supervised physical training effectively improved functional capacity and decreased LBP and disability up to one-year follow-up. The subjects’ positive evaluation of the treatment effect at ten-years follow-up suggests a long-term benefit of training.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge that the first part of the study (six-months follow-up period) was mainly developed and guided by M. Oliveri, and has been documented in a comprehensive report for the Swiss National Science Foundation and in an article for Eular [35]. The study was approved by the local Ethics Committee.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Hygiene and Applied Physiology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland

    Irina Maul, Thomas Läubli & Helmut Krueger

  2. Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Rehabilitation Clinic, Bellikon, Switzerland

    Michael Oliveri

Authors
  1. Irina Maul
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  2. Thomas Läubli
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  3. Michael Oliveri
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  4. Helmut Krueger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Irina Maul.

Additional information

Supported in part by a grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation (Project NFP 26, No. 4026-27064) and by the BBW (Project “SOS-LBD”, No. 97.0046).

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Maul, I., Läubli, T., Oliveri, M. et al. Long-term effects of supervised physical training in secondary prevention of low back pain. Eur Spine J 14, 599–611 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-004-0873-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-004-0873-3

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