Longitudinal Observations of Low Back Pain Recovery

Most low back pain recovery studies evaluate one outcome measure at one point in time. Return to work, symptoms, activities of daily living and functional performance have been commonly used outcome measures. The goal of this project was to evaluate all four previously used outcome measures at several points in time. The second goal of the project was to predict outcome as a function of time and recovery measure. The outcome measures of working status, symptoms, and activities of daily living were measured using questionnaires. Functional performance outcome was evaluated using the lumbar motion monitor. These outcome measures were evaluated every two weeks for three months. Psychological factors, psychosocial factors, physical job demands and personal factors that may influence recovery were also evaluated. Discriminant function analysis was used to predict outcome at a specific visit given the confounding factors and any previous conditions. The cross-validation error rate for the discriminant function results ranged from 0–15%. The results showed discrepancies among the four outcome measures in there indication of recovery. This is the first study to compare multiple outcome measures at several point in time after an LBP episode.