Abstract
Objectives
The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive back school program that included elements of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), implement this through multidisciplinary collaboration, and ascertain its effectiveness as a pilot study.
Design
This school was implemented in the form of five 90-minute group sessions held every other week.
Methods
Participants comprised 7 chronic low back pain patients with poor improvement in the usual treatment. Practitioners were orthopaedic surgeon, physical therapist, and a clinical psychologist.
This school contents were patient education, self-monitoring, back exercise, relaxation, stress management, cognitive restructuring, activity pacing, and exposure.
Results
From the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, each score of four scales or items (sense of control, PCS (pain catastrophizing), PASS-20 (escape/avoidance), FFD (finger-floor distance)) after this program significantly improved. Results of calculating the effect size, sense of control (d=0.55) is ‘moderate’, the PCS (d=1.12) and the PASS-20 (d=1.64) were ‘large’.
Conclusions
This back school may be useful for physical function and psychological variables which much related to pain management and daily disabilities in patients with poor respond to standard orthopaedic treatment.
