None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The aim of this study is determine the effectiveness and feasibility of implementing the Movement is Medicine (MiM) small-group program after patients undergo facet joint rhizolysis for their chronic back pain. Participants randomly allocated to the intervention condition attend one of four 6-week (18 hours total) Movement is Medicine small-group interventions following their rhizolysis procedure, with around 8 participants per group, and led by two trained facilitators. Sessions include pain science, relaxation/breathing, and guided demonstrations of various low-intensity exercise options, with all of these techniques suggested as homework between sessions. Control participants simply attend their usual healthcare appointments following their rhizolysis procedure. Outcome measures include functional assessments, as well as self-reported symptoms of pain intensity/interference, lower back pain disability, fear of movement, depression, anxiety and stress, pain self-efficacy, and pain catastrophising, completed immediately before and after the intervention, and three months later (and similar timepoints for controls). If the intervention improves self-management, functional outcomes and quality of life, these patients may "live well despite the pain" and be less reliant on repeated and costly hospital-based care, and findings may provide grounds for offering the intervention to our procedural patients more broadly.
Interventions
Participants who are randomly allocated to the Movement is Medicine (MiM) intervention treatment will be booked to attend one of four groups of the 6-week treatment program (n~8 participants per group). The maximum total sample size is n=32 for this intervention. The four groups will run consecutively over a period of 8 months, with approximately 2 weeks' break between each group. The treatment participation will commence from 2 weeks and up to 12 weeks post-rhizolysis. The intervention will com
Participants who are randomly allocated to the Movement is Medicine (MiM) intervention treatment will be booked to attend one of four groups of the 6-week treatment program (n~8 participants per group). The maximum total sample size is n=32 for this intervention. The four groups will run consecutively over a period of 8 months, with approximately 2 weeks' break between each group. The treatment participation will commence from 2 weeks and up to 12 weeks post-rhizolysis. The intervention will comprise 6 x 3hr small-group sessions (held once weekly), conducted face-to-face in a group room at Flinders Medical Centre Pain Unit clinic. The intervention will include pain science education regarding movement and graded exercise, activity pacing, managing flare-ups, and guided demonstrations around breathing/relaxation, and low-intensity exercise (e.g. stretching, muscle relaxation, yoga), with exercise-based homework in-between sessions. In the first and last sessions, participants will complete several simple tests of functional ability (including standing and walking speed, and functional reach), closely supervised by the physiotherapist facilitator, taking 5 minutes maximum. Participants in the intervention treatment receive a treatment manual with all study materials, space to record individualised treatment plans, and weekly homework tasks and progress review. Two facilitators will be present at each intervention session to ensure participants remain engaged. Each facilitator will lead different sections of the session to maximize individual participant interaction. The primary facilitator is a registered physiotherapist, while the co-facilitator is a registered nurse. Facilitators record session attendance, and participants who do not attend are contacted by phone to determine the reason for their absence. At commencement and completion of the treatment group, group facilitators will send courtesy letters to participants’ referring GP, as well as an email to the Pain Unit doctor who referred them to the research project, as a duty of care, and to provide continuity of care (done with participants’ explicit consent). Immediately following completion of the intervention (MiM) program, participants will be made aware that they will be contacted again in three months for a check-in and follow-up. Intervention participants are reimbursed up to $120 (depending on their session attendance).
Sponsors
Southern Adelaide Local Health Network
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Existing Flinders Medical Centre Pain Management Unit patients who are booked to receive their first lumbar rhizolysis procedure at the Pain Unit.
Exclusion criteria
Have already had a lumbar rhizolysis procedure Previously completed/are currently undergoing Flinders Pain Management Unit Allied Health group programs Severe mobility issues Issues with dizziness/balance Actively suicidal Unstable mental health Requiring an interpreter Significant cognitive impairment Significant visual or auditory difficulties (which would be a major impediment to group participation)
Outcome results
None listed