Maintenance Care is a traditional chiropractic approach, whereby patients continue treatment after optimum benefit is reached. A review conducted in 1996 concluded that evidence behind this ...therapeutic strategy was lacking, and a second review from 2008 reached the same conclusion. Since then, a systematic research program in the Nordic countries was undertaken to uncover the definition, indications, prevalence of use and beliefs regarding Maintenance Care to make it possible to investigate its clinical usefulness and cost-effectiveness. As a result, an evidence-based clinical study could be performed. It was therefore timely to review the evidence.
Using the search terms "chiropractic OR manual therapy" AND "Maintenance Care OR prevention", PubMed and Web of Science were searched, and the titles and abstracts reviewed for eligibility, starting from 2007. In addition, a search for "The Nordic Maintenance Care Program" was conducted. Because of the diversity of topics and study designs, a systematic review with narrative reporting was undertaken.
Fourteen original research articles were included in the review. Maintenance Care was defined as a secondary/tertiary preventive approach, recommended to patients with previous pain episodes, who respond well to chiropractic care. Maintenance Care is applied to approximately 30% of Scandinavian chiropractic patients. Both chiropractors and patients believe in the efficacy of Maintenance Care. Four studies investigating the effect of chiropractic Maintenance Care were identified, with disparate results on pain and disability of neck and back pain. However, only one of these studies utilized all the existing evidence when selecting study subjects and found that Maintenance Care patients experienced fewer days with low back pain compared to patients invited to contact their chiropractor 'when needed'. No studies were found on the cost-effectiveness of Maintenance Care.
Knowledge of chiropractic Maintenance Care has advanced. There is reasonable consensus among chiropractors on what Maintenance Care is, how it should be used, and its indications. Presently, Maintenance Care can be considered an evidence-based method to perform secondary or tertiary prevention in patients with previous episodes of low back pain, who report a good outcome from the initial treatments. However, these results should not be interpreted as an indication for Maintenance Care on all patients, who receive chiropractic treatment.
Work-directed interventions that include problem-solving can reduce the number of sickness absence days. The effect of combining a problem-solving intervention with involvement of the employer is ...currently being tested in primary care in Sweden for employees on sickness absence due to common mental disorders (PROSA trial). The current study is part of the PROSA trial and has a two-fold aim: 1) to explore the experiences of participating in a problem-solving intervention with workplace involvement aimed at reducing sickness absence in employees with common mental disorders, delivered in Swedish primary health care, and 2) to identify facilitators of and barriers to participate in the intervention. Both aims targeted rehabilitation coordinators, employees on sickness absence, and first-line managers.
Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with participants from the PROSA intervention group; rehabilitation coordinators (n = 8), employees (n = 13), and first-line managers (n = 8). Content analysis was used to analyse the data and the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research was used to group the data according to four contextual domains. One theme describing the participation experiences was established for each domain. Facilitators and barriers for each domain and stakeholder group were identified.
The stakeholders experienced the intervention as supportive in identifying problems and solutions and enabling a dialogue between them. However, the intervention was considered demanding and good relationships between the stakeholders were needed. Facilitating factors were the manual and work sheets which the coordinators were provided with, and the manager being involved early in the return-to-work process. Barriers were the number of on-site meetings, disagreements and conflicts between employees and first-line managers, and symptom severity.
Seeing the workplace as an integral part of the intervention by always conducting a three-part meeting enabled a dialogue that can be used to identify and address disagreements, to explain CMD symptoms, and how these can be handled at the workplace. We suggest allocating time towards developing good relationships, provide RCs with training in handling disagreements, and additional knowledge about factors in the employee's psychosocial work environment that can impair or promote health to increase the RCs ability to support the employee and manager.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on healthcare, and the health of healthcare workers has been subject of much research. However, studies of health-related factors in manual ...therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic are scarce. Research in this field can provide valuable insights for future crises policy and guidelines, including in regions where the public health response to COVID-19 contrasts with that of most other international jurisdictions. The aim was to describe the prevalence of psychological distress and musculoskeletal pain, and to investigate factors potentially associated with high psychological distress and activity-limiting musculoskeletal pain in clinically active chiropractors and naprapaths during the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden.
A cross-sectional survey was distributed to a representative sample of Swedish manual therapists, between November 2020 and January 2021. High psychological distress and activity-limiting musculoskeletal pain were investigated regarding associations with residing in a municipality with a high spread of infection, a previous/ongoing SARS-CoV-2 infection, clinical interferences and economic consequences associated with the pandemic. Generalized Linear Models with log link and binomial distribution were used, computing prevalence ratios (PR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI).
A total of 762 participants were included, representing 46% of the source population. The prevalence of depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms was 17%, 7%, and 12%, respectively. Neck (50%), low back (46%), upper back (40%), and shoulders (39%) were the most prevalent musculoskeletal pain areas. Economic consequences due to the pandemic were associated with high psychological distress (PR = 2.30, 95% CI: 1.48-3.53).
During the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden, manual therapists primarily suffered from musculoskeletal pain related to the back and shoulders, while depressive symptoms were the most common symptom of psychological distress. Owners of businesses that suffered economic consequences had a higher prevalence of high psychological distress, which may call for targeted support of this group in future similar contexts. Future longitudinal studies during the pandemic are warranted to assess these associations further.
Introduction
Common mental disorders (CMD) are leading causes of decreased workability in Sweden and worldwide. Effective interventions to prevent or treat such disorders are important for public ...health.
Objective
To synthesize the research literature regarding occupational health service (OHS) interventions targeting prevention or reduction of CMD among employees. The effect on workability (sickness absence, return-to-work and self-reported workability) and on CMD symptoms was evaluated in a narrative analysis.
Data sources
The literature search was performed in four electronic databases in two searches, in 2014 and in 2017.
Eligibility criteria (using PICO)
Population: studies investigating employees at risk or diagnosed with CMD, as well as preventive workplace intervention targeting mental health. Intervention: studies where the recruitment or the intervention was delivered by the OHS or OHS personnel were included. Control: individuals or groups who did not receive the target intervention. Outcome: all types of outcomes concerning sickness absence and psychological health were included.
Study quality was assessed using a Swedish AMSTAR-based checklist, and results from studies with low or medium risk of bias were narratively synthesized based on effect or absence thereof.
Results
Thirty-three studies were included and assessed for risk of bias. Twenty-one studies had low or medium risk of bias. In 18 studies, rehabilitation interventions were evaluated, 11 studies concerned interventions targeting employees at risk for developing CMD and four studies investigated preventive interventions. Work-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and problem-solving skill interventions decreased time to first return-to-work among employees on sick leave for CMD in comparison with treatment-as-usual. However, effect on return to full-time work was not consistent, and these interventions did not consistently improve CMD symptoms. Selective interventions targeting employees at risk of CMD and preventive interventions for employees were heterogeneous, so replication of these studies is necessary to evaluate effect.
Limitations
Other workplace interventions outside the OHS may have been missed by our search. There was considerable heterogeneity in the included studies, and most studies were investigating measures targeting the individual worker. Interventions at the workplace/organizational level were less common.
Conclusions and implication of key findings
Return-to-work and improvement of CMD symptoms are poorly correlated and should be addressed simultaneously in future interventions. Further, interventions for CMD administered through the occupational health service require further study. Rehabilitative and preventive strategies should be evaluated with scientifically robust methods, to examine the effectiveness of such interventions.
For individuals with recurrent or persistent non-specific low back pain (LBP), exercise and exercise combined with education have been shown to be effective in preventing new episodes or in reducing ...the impact of the condition. Chiropractors have traditionally used Maintenance Care (MC), as secondary and tertiary prevention strategies. The aim of this trial was to investigate the effectiveness of MC on pain trajectories for patients with recurrent or persistent LBP.
This pragmatic, investigator-blinded, two arm randomized controlled trial included consecutive patients (18-65 years old) with non-specific LBP, who had an early favorable response to chiropractic care. After an initial course of treatment, eligible subjects were randomized to either MC or control (symptom-guided treatment). The primary outcome was total number of days with bothersome LBP during 52 weeks collected weekly with text-messages (SMS) and estimated by a GEE model.
Three hundred and twenty-eight subjects were randomly allocated to one of the two treatment groups. MC resulted in a reduction in the total number of days per week with bothersome LBP compared with symptom-guided treatment. During the 12 month study period, the MC group (n = 163, 3 dropouts) reported 12.8 (95% CI = 10.1, 15.5; p = <0.001) fewer days in total with bothersome LBP compared to the control group (n = 158, 4 dropouts) and received 1.7 (95% CI = 1.8, 2.1; p = <0.001) more treatments. Numbers presented are means. No serious adverse events were recorded.
MC was more effective than symptom-guided treatment in reducing the total number of days over 52 weeks with bothersome non-specific LBP but it resulted in a higher number of treatments. For selected patients with recurrent or persistent non-specific LBP who respond well to an initial course of chiropractic care, MC should be considered an option for tertiary prevention.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
OBJECTIVES:Pain has been found to be associated with poor sleep quality, awakenings, and shorter sleep time. There is a need to understand the relationship of pain and sleep over time to adequately ...manage the pain disorder and its consequences. The objectives of this study were to establish the prevalence of sleep disturbance in patients with acute or persistent low back pain (LBP), to investigate the correlation between pain and sleep disturbance and to explore the influence of pain on sleep disturbance.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:Data from a prospective observational study of 233 patients with acute and persistent LBP were used. Twenty-six weekly pain reports and monthly (weeks 2, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, and 26) sleep reports were collected with text messages. The prevalence of sleep disturbance, the correlation of pain and sleep disturbance, and the risk of reporting disturbed sleep after experiencing LBP were calculated.
RESULTS:Sleep disturbance was reported by 67% of the sample. Among patients with acute and persistent LBP, the prevalence was 55% and 76%, respectively. Measures of pain and sleep disturbance were significantly correlated. Compared with being pain free, the risk of reporting sleep disturbance after experiencing pain the previous week was significantly increased (relative risk=2.1 to 5.8), and a dose-response between the number of days with pain and the risk of sleep disturbance was found.
DISCUSSION:This study used repeated measures of both pain and sleep disturbance. The results were in line with previous research, confirming that sleep disturbance was found in the majority of patients with LBP. Pain and sleep measures were significantly correlated, and there was an increased risk of reporting sleep disturbance after experiencing LBP.
Trajectories of low back pain Axen, I; Leboeuf-Yde, C
Best practice & research. Clinical rheumatology,
10/2013, Letnik:
27, Številka:
5
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Abstract Low back pain is not a self-limiting problem, but rather a recurrent and sometimes persistent disorder. To understand the course over time, detailed investigation, preferably using repeated ...measurements over extended periods of time, is needed. New knowledge concerning short-term trajectories indicates that the low back pain ‘episode’ is short lived, at least in the primary care setting, with most patients improving. Nevertheless, in the long term, low back pain often runs a persistent course with around two-thirds of patients estimated to be in pain after 12 months. Some individuals never have low back pain, but most have it on and off or persistently. Thus, the low back pain ‘condition’ is usually a lifelong experience. However, subgroups of patients with different back pain trajectories have been identified and linked to clinical parameters. Further investigation is warranted to understand causality, treatment effect and prognostic factors and to study the possible association of trajectories with pathologies.
Evidence-based practice (EBP) is essential in improving the quality of healthcare and of importance for all health care personnel. No study in Norway has investigated attitudes, skills and use ...related to EBP among chiropractors. The aim of this study was to describe Norwegian chiropractors' attitudes, skills, and use of EBP, as well as the barriers and facilitators to their use of EBP.
A national cross-sectional survey, the online version of the Evidence Based practice Attitudes & Utilisation SurvEy (EBASE), was sent by email to 770 Norwegian practicing chiropractors, all members of the Norwegian Chiropractic Association. Three EBASE sub-scores were generated (Attitudes, Skills and Use), and the demographic characteristics of the sample were reported. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between responses of the three sub-scores and demographic characteristics. Information on main barriers and facilitators of EBP was collected and described.
A total of 312 (41%) chiropractors responded to the survey, and 95% agreed that EBP is necessary for chiropractic practice. While overall use of EBP activities was low participants were interested in learning and improving their skills to incorporate EBP into practice. Chiropractors' attitudes, skills, and use of EBP were positively associated with being female and having spent more than one hour per week on research, but negatively associated with having practiced more than 10 years. Main barriers of EBP were lack of skills to critically evaluate, interpret, and apply research findings to practice. Main facilitators of EBP included access to the internet and free online databases in the workplace.
Although chiropractors in Norway reported positive attitudes and moderate skills in EBP, their use of EBP activities was limited. The main barriers and facilitators to EBP were primarily related to perceived skills deficits, whilst enablers of EBP were mostly related to infrastructure requirements.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Exercise is effective in improving non-specific low back pain (LBP). Certain components of physical exercise, such as the type, intensity and frequency of exercise, are likely to influence ...participation among working adults with non-specific LBP, but the value and relative importance of these components remain unknown. The study's aim was to examine such specific components and their influence on individual preferences for exercise for secondary prevention of non-specific LBP among working adults.
In a discrete choice experiment, working individuals with non-specific LBP answered a web-based questionnaire. Each respondent was given ten pairs of hypothetical exercise programs and asked to choose one option from each pair. The choices comprised six attributes of exercise (i.e., type of training, design, intensity, frequency, proximity and incentives), each with either three or four levels. A conditional logit regression that reflected the random utility model was used to analyze the responses.
The final study population consisted of 112 participants. The participants' preferred exercise option was aerobic (i.e., cardiovascular) rather than strength training, group exercise with trainer supervision, rather than individual or unsupervised exercise. They also preferred high intensity exercise performed at least once or twice per week. The most popular types of incentive were exercise during working hours and a wellness allowance rather than coupons for sports goods. The results show that the relative value of some attribute levels differed between young adults (age ≤ 44 years) and older adults (age ≥ 45 years) in terms of the level of trainer supervision required, exercise intensity, travel time to exercise location and financial incentives. For active study participants, exercise frequency (i.e., twice per week, 1.15; CI: 0.25; 2.06) influenced choice of exercise. For individuals with more than one child, travel time (i.e., 20 minutes, -0.55; CI: 0.65; 3.26) was also an influential attribute for choice of exercise, showing that people with children at home preferred to exercise close to home.
This study adds to our knowledge about what types of exercise working adults with back pain are most likely to participate in. The exercise should be a cardiovascular type of training carried out in a group with trainer supervision. It should also be of high intensity and preferably performed twice per week during working hours. Coupons for sports goods do not appear to motivate physical activity among workers with LBP. The findings of the study could have a substantial impact on the planning and development of exercise provision and promotion strategies to improve non-specific LBP. Providers and employers may be able to improve participation in exercise programs for adults with non-specific LBP by focusing on the exercise components which are the most attractive. This in turn would improve satisfaction and adherence to exercise interventions aimed at preventing recurrent non-specific LBP.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Abstract
Background
Neck- and back- pain are highly prevalent conditions in Sweden and world-wide. Such pain often has consequences on everyday activities, work- and personal life. One consequence is ...work absence and decreased productivity at work. Adding a workplace dialogue to structured physiotherapy was recently found to lead to increased workability, i.e., not being on sick leave during the 12
th
month of follow up.
Aim
The aim of the study was to explore the effect of a workplace dialogue intervention on secondary outcomes: perceived impact of neck and/or back pain on everyday activities and on performance at work, and total days of sick leave during 12 month follow up. A further aim was to examine associations between perceived influence of pain, and sick leave.
Method
Patients with neck and/or back pain in primary care in the south of Sweden were randomized into structured physiotherapy alone (
n
= 206) or with the addition of a workplace dialogue (
n
= 146). Data regarding the pain’s influence on everyday activities and on performance at work were collected using weekly text messages for 52 weeks. The pattern of change in perceived influence of neck and/or back pain on everyday activities and performance at work was compared between the groups with linear mixed models. Cross sectional correlations between perceived influence of neck and/or back pain on everyday activities and performance at work, and days of sick leave, during the preceding four weeks at months 3, 6, 9 and 12 were examined.
Result
We found no differences in change of perceived influence of neck and/or back pain on daily activities or perceived performance at work, or total days of sick leave during the 12 months of follow up between the groups with structured physiotherapy with or without a workplace dialogue. There was a weak to moderate positive correlation between days of sick leave and perceived influence of neck and/or back pain on everyday activities and performance at work (rho 0.28–0.47).
Conclusion
A workplace dialogue was not found to affect the perceived impact of neck and/or back pain on everyday activities and performance at work.
Trial registration
ClinicalTrials.gov ID:
NCT02609750
.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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