OBJECTIVE: This randomized clinical trial examined the efficacies of a group-based multidisciplinary rehabilitation program and oral drug treatment versus oral drug treatment alone in Iran. METHODS: A total of 197 patients with chronic low back pain were randomized to either intervention group (n = 97) receiving a group-based, 5-session multidisciplinary rehabilitation program plus oral medication or to control group (n = 100) receiving just oral medication. At baseline and at 3 and 6-month follow-ups, patients filled out questionnaires on health-related quality of life (36-item Short-form General Health Survey) and disability Questionnaires (Quebec Disability Scale and Ronald-Morris Disability). Repeated measure analysis of variance was used to compare 2 groups during time. RESULTS: The 2 groups were comparable regarding all baseline characteristics (p > 0.05). There were significant differences within each group by time in terms of all subscales of 36-item Short-form (p < 0.01) except for mental health (p = 0.7). Furthermore, there were significant differences between groups in terms of all domains of SF-36 scale except for general health (p = 0.06), social function (p = 0.08) and role emotional (p = 0.7). Furthermore, according to the scores of Ronald-Morris Disability Questionnaire and Quebec Disability Scale, the disability of patients in the intervention group was improved over time significantly (p = 0.01 and p < 0.0001, respectively). DISCUSSION: The findings revealed that the group-based multidisciplinary program could improve most domains of quality of life in chronic low back pain patients in the 6-month period. However, there were no significant differences between two groups in sub scales such as general health, social function and role emotional.

Full text (sometimes free) may be available at these link(s):      help

• DOI
• PubMed
• PDF locator
• publisher