A matter of choice: Should students self-select exercise for their nonspecific chronic low back pain? A controlled study

Abstract

Objectives

To explore the effect of autonomy to choose exercise-therapy (ET) for nonspecific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) on treatment adherence and clinical outcomes.

Participants

Forty-six students were recruited from Ariel University.

Methods

Every two gender-and-age-matched students were allocated to either self-selected exercise group (SSE) or pre-determined exercise group (PDE). Subjects completed 4-weeks exercise and filled a training-log. Oswestry disability-index (ODI) and numerical pain-rating scores (NPRS) were measured, as well as exercise quality-performance.

Results

ODI and NPRS improved in both groups, with no between-group differences. Exercise quality-performance was also similar between groups. A trend for better exercise-adherence was found in the SSE-group (75.3% vs 65.0% adherence, p = 0.08, effect size d = 0.59). Meaningful NPRS improvement was demonstrated in 54.5% of SSE-group participants compared with 33.3% in the PDE-group.

Conclusions

Autonomy may serve as a factor to enhance treatment adherence and clinical outcomes of ET for NSCLBP among students.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of Israel and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Ariel University.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.