Benefits of Back School in functional capacity and pain intensity of patients with chronic low back pain.

Abstract

Introduction: Due to the high incidence of low back pain in the population, is very important to study methods of prevention and treatment for this disease. The Back School, an approach that aims to provide to participants the increase
of self-care, associating primary prevention to health education, has been suggested for the treatment of patients with
chronic low back pain. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the benefits of Back School on functional capacity and pain intensity, in short and medium term, at patients with chronic low back pain. Methods: Fifty eight patients with chronic low back pain, selected at UniCesumar physical therapy’s clinic, were evaluated, by an independent
examiner, using Roland-Morris Questionnaire, Pain Visual Analogue Scale and asked about medications consumption.
In sequence, all the patients were randomized into two groups: 1) School Program and 2) Control. The group 1 patients participated of Back School program, composed of theoretical-practical classes, twice a week, totaling ten classes of 60 minutes; and group 2 were followed only by phone calls. The data were statistically analyzed by Mann-Whitney U test, Friedman and Wilcoxon, using the significant values of p < 0,05. Results: Fifty three patients finished the
study and were analyzed after the treatment protocol, as well as three and six months sequent. The improvement in
pain intensity and functional capacity was statistically significant only in the Back School group. Conclusion: In the
present study, it was verified the effectiveness of Back School program to improve pain intensity and functional capacity of patients with chronic low back pain.