Exploring the outcome "days with bothersome pain" and its association with pain intensity, disability, and quality of life.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to investigate the criterion validity, specifically the concurrent validity of the measure of days with bothersome pain, by investigating its association with measures of pain intensity, disability, and quality of life. METHODS: We used two separate cohorts to study the concurrent validity of "days with bothersome pain," by investigating its association with pain intensity, disability, and quality of life: (1) 321 patients with low back pain (LBP), using follow-up data at 1 year, and (2) 170 pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain (PGP), using data at 12 and 30 weeks of their pregnancy. In both studies, weekly text messages asked for the number of days with bothersome pain the previous week. Pearson's correlation, univariable, and multivariable linear regression were used to assess the association between days with bothersome pain per week and pain intensity, disability, and quality of life. Non-linear associations were explored. RESULTS: Days with bothersome pain were moderately and inversely correlated with quality of life (r = -0.45, p < 0.001), and moderately correlated with pain intensity (r = 0.70, p < 0.001) and disability ( r = 0.51, p < 0.001), among patients with LBP, and to a lesser degree among pregnant women with PGP (corresponding values at 18 weeks of pregnancy for quality of life; r = -0.27, p = 0.005, for pain intensity r = 0.41, p < 0.001, and for disability r = 0.41, p < 0.001). Furthermore, it was best explained by pain intensity for LBP patients, and by pain intensity and disability for pregnant women with pelvic pain. For the latter cohort, non-linear analyses suggested that days with bothersome pain could not distinguish between individuals with different high pain intensities and disabilities and low quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: We consider the concurrent validity of "days with bothersome pain" to be moderate in the correlations with pain intensity, disability, and quality of life in patients with LBP and in pregnant women with PGP. Ceiling effects may be an issue in populations with high pain severity. The differences between the cohorts suggested that also other constructs are involved in the concept of days with bothersome pain.

Evidence-based maintenance care among chiropractors in Norway: a cross-sectional survey in the Nordic maintenance care program.

BACKGROUND: Chiropractors use a treatment strategy called maintenance care with the intent of secondary and tertiary prevention. The Nordic Maintenance Care Program provides evidence of when and for whom maintenance care should be offered. Dissemination has occurred through articles, workshops, social media, conference in Europe and internationally. However, little is known about chiropractors' awareness and use of this evidence. This study explores chiropractors' attitudes, skills, and use of evidence on maintenance care, as well as study their association with general evidence-based practice and demographic characteristics. Moreover, barriers and facilitators of evidence access are also examined. METHODS: Questions pertaining our research aim were included in the anonymous and digital Evidence-Based practice Attitude and utilization SurvEy, which was distributed to all members (n = 770) of the Norwegian chiropractic association in the fall of 2021. RESULTS: The response rate was 41% (n = 312). Regarding attitudes towards evidence-based maintenance care, 26% agreed they needed tools to recommend this care to patients. Approximately half (57%) believed they had skills to identify suitable patients, and 45% had used published information in the past month. Strong alignment was observed between Norwegian chiropractors' attitudes, skills, and utilization of evidence-based maintenance care and general evidence-based practice. Maintenance care skills were significantly associated with age (those between 40 and 59 years being less likely to report having high skills), clinical setting (those working with conventional health care providers being less likely to report having high skills) and country of education (those educated in the US and Australia being more likely to report having high skills). Moreover, maintenance care use was significantly associated with country of education (those educated in Australia were less likely to have used published information regarding patient selection for maintenance care). Access to resources was a barrier, whereas knowledge of patient suitability facilitated evidence-based maintenance care. CONCLUSIONS: Norwegian chiropractors had neutral attitudes towards maintenance care, but generally reported moderate skills. Most had not used evidence about maintenance care in the previous month. Access to useful resources about the evidence regarding maintenance care was a barrier, and knowledge of who responds to maintenance care was a facilitator.

Investigating attitudes, skills, and use of evidence-based practice among Norwegian chiropractors; a national cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is essential in improving the quality of healthcare and of importance for all health care personnel. No study in Norway has investigated attitudes, skills and use related to EBP among chiropractors. The aim of this study was to describe Norwegian chiropractors' attitudes, skills, and use of EBP, as well as the barriers and facilitators to their use of EBP. METHODS: A national cross-sectional survey, the online version of the Evidence Based practice Attitudes & Utilisation SurvEy (EBASE), was sent by email to 770 Norwegian practicing chiropractors, all members of the Norwegian Chiropractic Association. Three EBASE sub-scores were generated (Attitudes, Skills and Use), and the demographic characteristics of the sample were reported. Linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between responses of the three sub-scores and demographic characteristics. Information on main barriers and facilitators of EBP was collected and described. RESULTS: A total of 312 (41%) chiropractors responded to the survey, and 95% agreed that EBP is necessary for chiropractic practice. While overall use of EBP activities was low participants were interested in learning and improving their skills to incorporate EBP into practice. Chiropractors' attitudes, skills, and use of EBP were positively associated with being female and having spent more than one hour per week on research, but negatively associated with having practiced more than 10 years. Main barriers of EBP were lack of skills to critically evaluate, interpret, and apply research findings to practice. Main facilitators of EBP included access to the internet and free online databases in the workplace. CONCLUSION: Although chiropractors in Norway reported positive attitudes and moderate skills in EBP, their use of EBP activities was limited. The main barriers and facilitators to EBP were primarily related to perceived skills deficits, whilst enablers of EBP were mostly related to infrastructure requirements.

Subjective recovery from pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain the first 6 weeks after delivery: a prospective longitudinal cohort study.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the subjective recovery from pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain (PGP) during the first 6 weeks after delivery and to detect possible risk factors for a poor recovery. METHODS: The participants were included in this study at the routine ultrasound examination at 18 weeks of pregnancy. The women received a weekly SMS with the question "How many days during the last week has your PGP been bothersome?" The SMS-track from the final 10 weeks of pregnancy and first 6 weeks after delivery were assessed and sorted, based on individual graphs. A total of 130 women who reported PGP during pregnancy and met for clinical examination 6 weeks after delivery were included in the study. RESULTS: In all, 83% of the women experienced substantial recovery from severe or moderate PGP within 6 weeks after delivery. Of these, 44% reported a substantial recovery already within 2 weeks after delivery. More multiparous women, women reporting PGP the year before pregnancy, and women with high pain intensity during pregnancy had a poor recovery. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis following PGP in pregnancy is good and the majority of women recovered substantially from severe and moderate pregnancy-related PGP within 6 weeks after delivery. For many women, a subjective substantial recovery occurred within 2 weeks after delivery. Predictors for a poor recovery were multiparity, PGP the year before pregnancy and a high pain intensity during pregnancy. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

Can a bothersome course of pelvic pain from mid-pregnancy to birth be predicted? A Norwegian prospective longitudinal SMS-Track study.

OBJECTIVE: To explore if pregnant women with pelvic girdle pain (PGP), subgrouped following the results from two clinical tests with high validity and reliability, differ in demographic characteristics and weekly amount of days with bothersome symptoms through the second half of pregnancy. DESIGN: A prospective longitudinal cohort study. PARTICIPANTS: Pregnant women with pelvic and lumbopelvic pain due for their second-trimester routine ultrasound examination. SETTING: Obstetric outpatient clinic at Stavanger University Hospital, Norway. METHODS: Women reporting pelvic and lumbopelvic pain completed a questionnaire on demographic and clinical features. They were clinically examined following a test procedure recommended in the European guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of PGP. Women without pain symptoms completed a questionnaire on demographic data. All women were followed weekly through an SMS-Track survey until delivery. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome measures were the results from clinical diagnostic tests for PGP and the number of days per week with bothersome pelvic pain. RESULTS: 503 women participated. 42% (212/503) reported pain in the lumbopelvic region and 39% (196/503) fulfilled the criteria for a probable PGP diagnosis. 27% (137/503) reported both the posterior pelvic pain provocation (P4) and the active straight leg raise (ASLR) tests positive at baseline in week 18, revealing 7.55 (95% CI 5.54 to 10.29) times higher mean number of days with bothersome pelvic pain compared with women with both tests negative. They presented the highest scores for workload, depressed mood, pain level, body mass index, Oswestry Disability Index and the number of previous pregnancies. Exercising regularly before and during pregnancy was more common in women with negative tests. CONCLUSION: If both P4 and ASLR tests were positive mid-pregnancy, a persistent bothersome pelvic pain of more than 5 days per week throughout the remainder of pregnancy could be predicted. Increased individual control over work situation and an active lifestyle, including regular exercise before and during pregnancy, may serve as a PGP prophylactic.

Chiropractic management of dominating one-sided pelvic girdle pain in pregnant women; a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the outcome of chiropractic management for a subgroup of pregnant women with dominating one-sided pelvic girdle pain (PGP). METHODS: The study population was recruited from a prospective longitudinal cohort study of pregnant women. Women reporting pelvic pain (PP), and who were diagnosed with dominating one-sided PGP after a clinical examination, were invited to participate in the intervention study. Recruitment took place either at 18 weeks, or after an SMS-tracking up to week 29. The women were randomized into a treatment group or a control group. The treatment group received chiropractic treatment individualized to each woman with regards to treatment modality and number of treatments. The control group was asked to return to conventional primary health care. The primary outcome measure was new occurrence of full time and/or graded sick leave due to PP and/or low back pain. Secondary outcome measures were self-reported PP, physical disability and general health status. Proportion of women reporting new occurrence of sick leave were compared using Chi squared tests. Differences in secondary outcome measures were estimated using linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Fifty-Six women were recruited, and 28 of them were randomized into the treatment group, and 28 into the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in sick leave, PP, disability or general health status between the two groups during pregnancy or after delivery. CONCLUSION: The study did not demonstrate superiority of chiropractic management over conventional care for dominating one-sided PGP during pregnancy. However, the analyses revealed wide confidence intervals containing both positive and negative clinically relevant effects. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov ( NCT01098136 ; 22/03/2010).

Pelvic girdle pain 3-6 months after delivery in an unselected cohort of Norwegian women.

PURPOSE: Persistent pelvic girdle pain (PGP) after delivery is considered uncommon. The aim of this study was to assess the frequency of persistent PGP after delivery in an unselected population, its influence on the women's daily life, and potential risk factors. METHODS: The study population was drawn from a previous retrospective study of pelvic pain (PP) during pregnancy. The women were followed until 3-6 months after delivery in a prospective cohort study. All women were contacted by telephone and those with persistent PP were invited to fill in questionnaires and undergo a clinical examination. RESULTS: 68 of 330 women reported persistent pain in the pelvic area 3-6 months after delivery. 47 underwent a clinical examination, after which 36 women were diagnosed with either PGP alone (n = 25), or PGP combined with low back pain (LBP) (n = 11). Affected women reported a poor subjective health status, but the pain did not have a major impact on their daily life activities. Women with 3 independent risk factors: age ≥30 years, a moderate or high Oswestry Disability Index in pregnancy, and combined PP and LBP during pregnancy, had a 27-fold increased risk for persistent PGP compared with women without these risk factors. CONCLUSION: 16 % of women that reported PP during pregnancy were found to have persistent PGP 3-6 months after the delivery. Women with risk factors for persistent PGP should be identified while pregnant, and offered a follow-up examination 3 months after delivery.