Table 3 Associations Between Known Prognostic Factors and Low Back Pain Intensity at 3-Month Follow-up in Patients in Chiropractic and General Practice (Low Back Pain as Categorical Variable)
| Chiropractic Practice | General Practice | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium LBP Intensity
b n = 330 RR c (95% CI) |
High LBP Intensity
b n = 111 RR c (95% CI) |
Medium LBP Intensity
b n = 117 RR c (95% CI) |
High LBP Intensity
b n = 107 RR c (95% CI) |
|
| Pain below knee or NRI a | 1.69 (0.93-3.07) | 3.19 (1.60-6.35) | 2.37 (0.74-7.61) | 4.26 (1.33-13.71) |
| NRI a | 2.70 (0.72-10.05) | 2.70 (0.54-13.61) | 3.00 (0.35-25.46) | 5.77 (0.70-47.31) |
| Poor general health a | 1.17 (0.79-1.72) | 1.80 (1.09-2.97) | 1.68 (0.77-3.67) | 4.48 (2.06-9.74) |
| Low expectation a | 2.78 (1.74-4.44) | 5.19 (2.97-9.06) | 1.92 (0.89-4.17) | 6.89 (3.15-15.08) |
| Duration ≥2 wk a | 2.49 (1.75-3.53) | 3.72 (2.35-5.91) | 3.22 (1.58-6.55) | 13.05 (5.84-29.17) |
| More than 3 previous episodes a | 2.14 (1.55-2.96) | 1.96 (1.26-3.06) | 2.88 (1.45-5.74) | 3.75 (1.85-7.60) |
| Depressed a | 1.96 (1.04-3.71) | 5.22 (2.62-10.4) | 0.74 (0.30-1.80) | 2.17 (0.95-4.97) |
| Other musculoskeletal problems a | 0.85 (0.51-1.42) | 1.93 (1.07-3.48) | 1.51 (0.55-4.14) | 6.44 (2.42-17.16) |
LBP, low back pain; NRI, nerve root involvement; RR, risk ratio.
a Pain below knee or NRI = LBP with leg pain below the knee and/or LBP with signs of NRI vs local LBP or LBP with leg pain above the knee; NRI = signs of nerve root involvement yes vs no; poor general health = 25% of patients reporting the worst general health vs 75% of patients reporting the best general health; low expectations = 25% of patients reporting the lowest recovery expectation vs 75% of patients reporting the highest recovery expectation; duration ≥ 2 wk vs duration < 2 wk; more than 3 previous episodes vs 0-3 previous episodes; depressed = Major Depression Inventory 0-50, sum score. Dichotomized: depressed if >19; musculoskeletal comorbidity yes vs no.
b Medium LBP intensity: numeric rating scale (0-10) ≥ 1 and < 4; high LBP intensity: numeric rating scale ≥ 4.
c RRs are relative to the lowest category of LBP intensity scores.