Schmerzmessung durch Selbstbeurteilung bei älteren Menschen mit kognitiver Beeinträchtigung

Copyright 2016 ThiemeHintergrund: Bei älteren Personen mit kognitiver Beeinträchtigung werden Schmerzen oft unter oder überversorgt. Die Basis einer Schmerztherapie stellt die Schmerzerfassung dar. Ziel: Die Arbeit erforschte die optimalste Selbstbeurteilungsskala zur Schmerzerfassung bei älteren Personen mit einer kognitiven Beeinträchtigung bezüglich der Kriterien der Anwendbarkeit, Konstruktvalidität und Retest-Reliabilität. Methode: Verschiedene Datenbanken wurden nach Studien durchsucht, die Selbstbeurteilungsskalen zur Schmerzerfassung verwendeten. Die verschiedenen Skalen wurden hinsichtlich Anwendbarkeit, Konstruktvalidität und Retest-Reliabilität miteinander verglichen. Ergebnisse: Vier Studien erfüllten alle Auswahlkriterien. Bei Personen mit leichter kognitiver Beeinträchtigung schnitt die verbale Beurteilungsskala mit einer Anwendbarkeit von über 90% am besten ab (Mini-Mental-Status-Test: 18-23 Punkte). Die Korrelation der Ergebnisse unterschiedlicher Skalen wies auf valide Messungen hin. Die Retest-Reliabilität war nur bei einer Intrarater-Messung genügend. Bei einer mäßigen bis starken kognitiven Beeinträchtigung war die Anwendbarkeit bei allen Skalen zu gering (<90%). Schlussfolgerung: Bei einer leichten kognitiven Beeinträchtigung stellt die verbale Beurteilungsskala ein geeignetes Messinstrument dar. Bei älteren Personen mit einer stärkeren kognitiven Beeinträchtigung sind Schmerzskalen zur Selbstbeurteilung nicht einsetzbar

Short-term effect on pain and function of neurophysiological education and sensorimotor retraining compared to usual physiotherapy in patients with chronic or recurrent non-specific low back pain, a pilot randomized controlled trial

Background: Non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) is a major health problem. Identification of subgroups and appropriate treatment regimen was proposed as a key priority by the Cochrane Back Review Group. We developed a multimodal treatment (MMT) for patients with moderate to severe disability and medium risk of poor outcome. MMT includes a) neurophysiological education on the perception of pain to decrease self-limitation due to catastrophizing believes about the nature of NSCLBP, b) sensory training of the lower trunk because these patients predominantly show poor sensory acuity of the trunk, and c) motor training to regain definite movement control of the trunk. A pilot study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of MMT, prior to a larger RCT, with focus on patients’ adherence and the evaluation of short-term effects on pain and disability of MMT when compared to usual physiotherapy. Method: We conducted a randomised controlled trial (RCT) in a primary care physiotherapy centre in Switzerland. Outcome assessment was 12 weeks after baseline. Patients with NSCLBP, considerable disability (five or more points on the Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) and medium or high risk of poor outcome on the Keele Start Back Tool (KSBT) were randomly allocated to either MMT or usual physiotherapy treatment (UPT) by an independent research assistant. Treatment included up to 16 sessions over 8 to 12 weeks. Both groups were given additional home training of 10 to 30 minutes to be performed five times per week. Adherence to treatment was evaluated in order to assess the feasibility of the treatment. Assessments were conducted by an independent blinded person. The primary outcome was pain (NRS 0-10) and the secondary outcome was disability (RMDQ). Between-group effects with Student’s t-test or the Mann-Whitney U test and the standardized mean difference of the primary outcome were calculated. Results: Twenty-eight patients (46% male, mean age 41.5 years (SD 10.6)) were randomized to MMT (n = 14) or UPT (n = 14). Patients’ adherence to treatment was >80% in both groups. Pain reduction (NRS; [95% CI]) was 2.14 [1.0 to 3.5] in the MMT and 0.69 [-2.0 to 2.5.] in the UPT. The between-group difference was 1.45 [0.0 to 4.0] (p = 0.03), representing a moderate effect size of 0.66 [-0.1 to 1.5]. Reduction in disability on the RMDQ was 6.71 [4.2 to 9.3] in MMT and 4.69 [1.9 to 7.4] in UPT, with a non-significant between-group difference of 2.02 [-1.5 to 5.6] (p = 0.25). The required sample size for a RCT with six months follow-up was estimated at 170 patients. Conclusions: MMT was found to be feasible and to significantly reduce pain in the short term when compared with UPT. A future RCT with a six-month follow-up would require approximately 170 patients

Improvement in low back movement control, decreased pain and disability, resulting from specific exercise intervention

Open Access JournalBackground: The study was conducted to assess whether patient-specific functional impairment and experienced daily disability improved after treatment to address active movement control of the low back. Method: A prospective study was carried out in two outpatient physiotherapy practices in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. 38 patients (17 males and 21 females) suffering from non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) and movement control impairment were treated. The study participants had an average age of 45 ± 13 years, an average height of 170 ± 8 cm and an average weight of 73 ± 15 kg. Patients were assessed prior and post treatment. Treatment was aimed at improving movement control of the lumbar spine, pain and disability. Six physiotherapists treated each patient on average nine times (SD 4.6). Treatment effects were evaluated using a set of six movement control tests (MCT), patient-specific functional pain scores (PSFS) and a Roland and Morris disability questionnaire (RMQ). Means, standard deviations, confidence intervals and paired t-tests were calculated. The effect size (d) was based on the change between t1 (time prior intervention) and t2 (time post intervention) using a significance level of p 0.8 being considered a large effect. Power calculations were performed for type I & II error estimation. Results: Movement control (MCT) showed a 59% improvement from 3.2 (max 6) to 1.3 positive tests (d = 1.3, p < 0.001), complaints (PSFS) decreased 41% from 5.9 points (max 10) to 3.5 (d = 1.3, p < 0.001), and disability (RMQ) decreased 43% from 8.9 to 5.1 points (d = 1.0, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The results of this controlled case series study, based on prior and post intervention, showed that movement control, patient specific functional complaints and disability improved significantly following specific individual exercise programs, performed with physiotherapeutic intervention. The results obtained warrant performance of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to substantiate our findings

Low back pain and postural control, effects of task difficulty on centre of pressure and spinal kinematics

Association of low back pain and standing postural control (PC) deficits are reported inconsistently. Demands on PC adaptation strategies are increased by restraining the input of visual or somatosensory senses. The objectives of the current study are, to investigate whether PC adaptations of the spine, hip and the centre of pressure (COP) differ between patients reporting non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) and asymptomatic controls. The PC adaption strategies of the thoracic and lumbar spine, the hip and the COP were measured in fifty-seven NSLBP patients and 22 asymptomatic controls. We tested three "feet together" conditions with increasing demands on PC strategies, using inertial measurement units (IMUs) on the spine and a Wii balance board for centre of pressure (COP) parameters. The differences between NSLBP patients and controls were most apparent when the participants were blindfolded, but remaining on a firm surface. While NSLBP patients had larger thoracic and lumbar spine mean absolute deviations of position (MADpos) in the frontal plane, the same parameters decreased in control subjects (relative change (RC): 0.23, 95% confidence interval: 0.03 to 0.45 and 0.03 to 0.48). The Mean absolute deviation of velocity (MADvel) of the thoracic spine in the frontal plane showed a similar and significant effect (RC: 0.12 95% CI: 0.01 to 0.25). Gender, age and pain during the measurements affected some parameters significantly. PC adaptions differ between NSLBP patients and asymptomatic controls. The differences are most apparent for the thoracic and lumbar parameters of MADpos, in the frontal plane and while the visual condition was removed

Head-eye movement control tests in patients with chronic neck pain : inter-observer reliability and discriminative validity

Background: Head-eye movement control deficit is an identified problem in patients with chronic neck pain, particularly in cases of whiplash associated disorders (WAD). To date, there is no evidence concerning the reliability and validity of visually assessed active head-eye movement control tests. Therefore, the objectives of the present cross-sectional study were, a) to develop a test battery; and b) to investigate inter-observer reliability and discriminative validity in patients with chronic neck pain compared to healthy controls. Methods: The study was conducted at two physiotherapy clinics in Switzerland. Ethics Committee approval was obtained. Ten active head-eye coordination tests, on 23 patients with chronic neck pain and associated symptoms and 19 healthy controls, were videotaped. The tests included eye movements in the neutral head position and 45° relative neck rotation, gaze stability and sequential head-eye movements. All tests were performed in the sitting and standing positions. Two blinded physiotherapists independently rated the randomized videos. Performance was rated as "negative", "moderately positive" or "clearly positive". Weighted kappa (wK) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to investigate inter-observer reliability. Good reliability was defined as wK >0.5 with a lower boundary of 95% CI >0.2. Odds ratios (to define cut-off points) and the distribution of the classificator, numbers of positive tests, were calculated. Results: Three out of ten tests showed "excellent" (wK 0.82 to 0.86), five out of ten tests showed "substantial" (wK 0.69 to 0.79) and two out of ten tests showed "moderate" (wK 0.54 to 0.59) reliability. Results were comparable in the sitting and standing positions. On average, three out of five tests were rated positive in patients and one out of five tests was rated positive in healthy controls. An odds ratio of 13.3 to 18.6 was obtained using ≥2/5 tests as a cut-off point. Conclusion: Visual assessment by physiotherapists of head-eye movement control tests is reliable. The test battery is able to discriminate between patients with chronic neck pain and healthy controls. There were no differences in performance between the sitting and standing positions. The test battery can therefore be reduced to five tests. Further research is needed to identify the test-retest stability and responsiveness

Development and validation of a pain behavior assessment in patients with chronic low back pain

Erworben im Rahmen der Schweizer Nationallizenzen (http://www.nationallizenzen.ch)Purpose: High levels of pain behavior adversely affect the success of multidisciplinary rehabilitation of patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNSLBP). Functional capacity evaluation (FCE) assessment should detect high levels of pain behavior to prevent the inclusion of unsuitable patients to functional rehabilitation programs. The aim of this study was to develop a Pain Behavior Assessment (PBA) and to evaluate its construct validity. Methods: The PBA was developed by experts in the field and is literature-based. Inclusion criteria for participants of the validation study were: CNSLBP, age 20-60 years, referral for fitness-for-work evaluation. The PBA was applied by physiotherapists during FCE. Rasch analysis was performed to evaluate the construct validity of the PBA. Internal consistency was indicated by the person separation index (PSI), which corresponds to Cronbach's alpha. Results: 145 male (72.5 %) and 55 female patients were included. Rasch analysis removed 11 items due to misfit and redundancy, resulting in a final PBA of 41 items. Item mean fit residual was -0.33 (SD 1.06) and total item Chi square 100.39 (df = 82, p = 0.08). The PSI value was 0.83. DIF analysis for age and gender revealed no bias. Conclusions: The PBA is a valid assessment tool to describe pain behavior in CNSLBP patients. The high PSI-value justifies the use of the PBA in individuals. The PBA may help to screen patients for high levels of pain behavior