The impact of individual recovery expectations on pain, limitations in activities and return to work in low back pain by Hayden et al. 2019

ME/CFS Skeptic · Nov 26, 2019

Abstract

Background
Low back pain is costly and disabling. Prognostic factor evidence can help healthcare providers and patients understand likely prognosis, inform the development of prediction models to identify subgroups, and may inform new treatment strategies. Recent studies have suggested that people who have poor expectations for recovery experience more back pain disability, but study results have differed.

Objectives
To synthesise evidence on the association between recovery expectations and disability outcomes in adults with low back pain, and explore sources of heterogeneity.

Search methods
The search strategy included broad and focused electronic searches of MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO to 12 March 2019, reference list searches of relevant reviews and included studies, and citation searches of relevant expectation measurement tools.

Selection criteria
We included low back pain prognosis studies from any setting assessing general, self‐efficacy, and treatment expectations (measured dichotomously and continuously on a 0 ‐ 10 scale), and their association with work participation, clinically important recovery, functional limitations, or pain intensity outcomes at short (3 months), medium (6 months), long (12 months), and very long (> 16 months) follow‐up.

Data collection and analysis
We extracted study characteristics and all reported estimates of unadjusted and adjusted associations between expectations and related outcomes. Two review authors independently assessed risks of bias using the Quality in Prognosis Studies (QUIPS) tool. We conducted narrative syntheses and meta‐analyses when appropriate unadjusted or adjusted estimates were available. Two review authors independently graded and reported the overall quality of evidence.

Main results
We screened 4635 unique citations to include 60 studies (30,530 participants). Thirty‐five studies were conducted in Europe, 21 in North America, and four in Australia. Study populations were mostly chronic (37%), from healthcare (62%) or occupational settings (26%). General expectation was the most common type of recovery expectation measured (70%); 16 studies measured more than one type of expectation.

Usable data for syntheses were available for 52 studies (87% of studies; 28,885 participants). We found moderate‐quality evidence that positive recovery expectations are strongly associated with better work participation (narrative synthesis: 21 studies; meta‐analysis: 12 studies, 4777 participants: odds ratio (OR) 2.43, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.64 to 3.62), and low‐quality evidence for clinically important recovery outcomes (narrative synthesis: 12 studies; meta‐analysis: 5 studies, 1820 participants: OR 1.89, 95% CI 1.49 to 2.41), both at follow‐up times closest to 12 months, using adjusted data. The association of recovery expectations with other outcomes of interest, including functional limitations (narrative synthesis: 10 studies; meta‐analysis: 3 studies, 1435 participants: OR 1.40, 95% CI 0.85 to 2.31) and pain intensity (narrative synthesis: 9 studies; meta‐analysis: 3 studies, 1555 participants: OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.23) outcomes at follow‐up times closest to 12 months using adjusted data, is less certain, achieving very low‐ and low‐quality evidence, respectively. No studies reported statistically significant or clinically important negative associations between recovery expectations and any low back pain outcome.

Authors' conclusions
We found that individual recovery expectations are probably strongly associated with future work participation (moderate‐quality evidence) and may be associated with clinically important recovery outcomes (low‐quality evidence). The association of recovery expectations with other outcomes of interest is less certain. Our findings suggest that recovery expectations should be considered in future studies, to improve prognosis and management of low back pain.
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Source: https://www.cochrane.org/CD011284/B...ions-activities-and-return-work-low-back-pain

rvallee · Nov 26, 2019

Because it's unthinkable to integrate the notion that patients may actually have a relatively good assessment of their bodies and that those "expectations" are essentially the equivalent of looking at a very dark sky at midday and saying it's probably going to rain pretty soon. If anything this strongly reinforces that fact. Most people can also tell whether they are capable, right here right now, to do a full marathon. Shocking, I know, people aren't all actually paper-thin caricatures of stupid nerve-wracked emotions and helpless confusion.

Unthinkable. It must be their bad attitude. Aren't we going through this crap right now with Eysenck? Committing the same mistake for the same reasons, so hot right now. Keep that GIGO factory going, Cochrane.

Arnie Pye · Nov 26, 2019

We included low back pain prognosis studies from any setting assessing general, self‐efficacy, and treatment expectations (measured dichotomously and continuously on a 0 ‐ 10 scale), and their association with work participation, clinically important recovery, functional limitations, or pain intensity outcomes at short (3 months), medium (6 months), long (12 months), and very long (> 16 months) follow‐up.
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Can I just point out that my treatment expectations of any condition I see a doctor for are effectively zero. I've been well-trained by the NHS.

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The impact of individual recovery expectations on pain, limitations in activities and return to work in low back pain by Hayden et al. 2019

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The impact of individual recovery expectations on pain, limitations in activities and return to work in low back pain by Hayden et al. 2019

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