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Background Low back pain (LBP) is a common pain syndrome in athletes, responsible for 28% of missed training days/year. Psychosocial factors contribute to chronic pain development. This study aims to investigate the transferability of psychosocial screening tools developed in the general population to athletes and to define athlete-specific thresholds.
Methods Data from a prospective multicentre study on LBP were collected at baseline and 1-year follow-up (n=52 athletes, n=289 recreational athletes and n=246 non-athletes). Pain was assessed using the Chronic Pain Grade questionnaire. The psychosocial Risk Stratification Index (RSI) was used to obtain prognostic information regarding the risk of chronic LBP (CLBP). Individual psychosocial risk profile was gained with the Risk Prevention Index – Social (RPI-S). Differences between groups were calculated using general linear models and planned contrasts. Discrimination thresholds for athletes were defined with receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curves.
Results Athletes and recreational athletes showed significantly lower psychosocial risk profiles and prognostic risk for CLBP than non-athletes. ROC curves suggested discrimination thresholds for athletes were different compared with non-athletes. Both screenings demonstrated very good sensitivity (RSI=100%; RPI-S: 75%–100%) and specificity (RSI: 76%–93%; RPI-S: 71%–93%). RSI revealed two risk classes for pain intensity (area under the curve (AUC) 0.92(95% CI 0.85 to 1.0)) and pain disability (AUC 0.88(95% CI 0.71 to 1.0)).
Conclusions Both screening tools can be used for athletes. Athlete-specific thresholds will improve physicians’ decision making and allow stratified treatment and prevention.
Psychosocial risk factors for chronic back pain in the general population and in competitive sports
(2018)
Lumbar back pain and the high risk of chronic complaints is not only an important health concern in the general population but also in high performance athletes. In contrast to non-athletes, there is a lack of research into psychosocial risk factors in athletes. Moreover, the development of psychosocial screening questionnaires that would be qualified to detect athletes with a high risk of chronicity is in the early stages. The purpose of this review is to give an overview of research into psychosocial risk factors in both populations and to evaluate the performance of screening instruments in non-athletes. The databases MEDLINE, PubMed, and PsycINFO were searched from March to June 2016 using the keywords "psychosocial screening", "low back pain", "sciatica" and "prognosis", "athletes". We included prospective studies conducted in patients with low back pain with and without radiation to the legs, aged ae<yen>18 years and a follow-up of at least 3 months. We identified 16 eligible studies, all of them conducted in samples of non-athletes. Among the most frequently published screening questionnaires, the A-rebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire (A-MPSQ) demonstrated a sufficient early prediction of return to work and the STarT Back Screening Tool (SBT) revealed acceptable performance predicting pain-related impairment. The prediction of future pain was sufficient with the Risk Analysis of Back Pain Chronification (RISC-BP) and the Heidelberg Short Questionnaire (HKF). Psychosocial risk factors of chronic back pain, such as chronic stress, depressive mood, and maladaptive pain processing are becoming increasingly more recognized in competitive sports. Screening instruments that have been shown to be predictive in the general population are currently being tested for suitability in the German MiSpEx research consortium.
Development of chronic pain after a low back pain episode is associated with increased pain sensitivity, altered pain processing mechanisms and the influence of psychosocial factors. Although there is some evidence that multimodal therapy (such as behavioral or motor control therapy) may be an important therapeutic strategy, its long-term effect on pain reduction and psychosocial load is still unclear. Prospective longitudinal designs providing information about the extent of such possible long-term effects are missing. This study aims to investigate the long-term effects of a homebased uni- and multidisciplinary motor control exercise program on low back pain intensity, disability and psychosocial variables. 14 months after completion of a multicenter study comparing uni- and multidisciplinary exercise interventions, a sample of one study center (n = 154) was assessed once more. Participants filled in questionnaires regarding their low back pain symptoms (characteristic pain intensity and related disability), stress and vital exhaustion (short version of the Maastricht Vital Exhaustion Questionnaire), anxiety and depression experiences (the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale), and pain-related cognitions (the Fear Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire). Repeated measures mixed ANCOVAs were calculated to determine the long-term effects of the interventions on characteristic pain intensity and disability as well as on the psychosocial variables. Fifty four percent of the sub-sample responded to the questionnaires (n = 84). Longitudinal analyses revealed a significant long-term effect of the exercise intervention on pain disability. The multidisciplinary group missed statistical significance yet showed a medium sized long-term effect. The groups did not differ in their changes of the psychosocial variables of interest. There was evidence of long-term effects of the interventions on pain-related disability, but there was no effect on the other variables of interest. This may be partially explained by participant's low comorbidities at baseline. Results are important regarding costless homebased alternatives for back pain patients and prevention tasks. Furthermore, this study closes the gap of missing long-term effect analysis in this field.