Therapy outcome after multidisciplinary treatment for chronic neck and chronic low back pain: a prospective clinical study in 365 patients

Abstract

Objectives: This prospective longitudinal clinical study analyses the therapy outcome of 365 patients with either chronic neck (n = 134) or low back (n = 231) pain treated with a multidisciplinary biopsychosocial therapy approach.

Methods: Patients with chronic neck pain (NP) or low back pain (LBP) for 3 months or longer, corresponding sick leave for longer than 6 weeks, and clearly defined inclusion and exclusion criteria underwent a 3‐week standardized inpatient multidisciplinary biopsychosocial therapy. Baseline sociodemographic, occupational, functional, and psychological data at entry into the study (T0) were comparable in both groups. At the 6‐month follow‐up (T1), five different therapy outcomes were analysed in both groups: back‐to‐work status, generic health status (the 36‐item Short Form Health Survey, SF‐36), pain intensity (visual analogue scale), functional capacity (Hannover back capacity score), and satisfaction with the therapy.

Results: Both treatment groups improved significantly in all outcome criteria between T0 and T1. In the total group, the back‐to‐work rate was 67.4%. At the final follow‐up there were no significant differences between the group with chronic NP and the group with chronic LBP in the outcome criteria back‐to‐work status, improvement of health status and functional capacity, satisfaction with therapy, and reduction of pain.

Conclusion: Evaluation of the main results of this study suggests that patients with chronic NP also derive significant benefit from a multidisciplinary treatment strategy, demonstrated in the literature so far mainly for patients with chronic LBP.