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Low Back PainNCT00155662

The Effect of a Work-hardening Program for Return-to-work for Workers With Low Back Pain

A study testing work-hardening program in people with Low Back Pain, run by National Taiwan University Hospital at 1 site in Taiwan.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

Occupational injury results in family economic crisis and national productivity loss; it is really becoming an important issue in Taiwanese society. Low back pain is the most frequent injury affecting workers. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 to 65 years
Conditions the study is for
Low Back Pain
What is being tested?
work-hardening program
How many people
60 participants
Where
1 siteTaiwan
Study dates
Aug 2002to Sep 2007
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 to 65 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Aged 18 to 65 years
  • Have a job
  • Low back pain

Who cannot join

None listed.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

Taiwan1 site
  • National Taiwan University Hospital

    Taipei, 100

Other trials in Taiwan

About this study

Occupational injury results in family economic crisis and national productivity loss; it is really becoming an important issue in Taiwanese society. Low back pain is the most frequent injury affecting workers. In addition to the prevention of injury, having a work-hardening program and getting the injured workers returned to work are also challenges for medical personnel. The purposes of this study are:

  1. to develop a guideline to assess the low back pain workers' impairment and working capacity;
  2. to formulate a feasible work-hardening program for the low back pain workers; and
  3. to execute the program, evaluate the training effect and then follow up the rate of return to work of the low back pain workers.

In the first year, a guideline for assessment of low back impairment and working capacity will be developed. It may consist of the demographic data, the working status, the physical need in work, trunk muscle isokinetic strength, Oswestry low back disability questionnaire, functional capacity evaluation and quality of life questionnaire. The whole assessment package will be empirically applied in low back pain workers and the validity and reliability will be tested. A work-hardening program for low back pain workers will be established in the first year through meetings with experts and literature review. The work-hardening program will consist of training of trunk muscle strength, flexibility, and general fitness. A sling-exercise training model will be applied in the program. In the second year, low back pain workers in outpatient departments will be recruited with their own agreement and grouped randomly into either the work-hardening group or the control group. The expected number of subjects is 30 in each group. According to the result of impairment assessment and work capacity, the workers in the work-hardening group will start the individualized work-hardening program for 3 months. After the program, the workers will be assessed again to evaluate the training's effect, and the investigators will follow the rate of return to work among them 3 and 6 months after the program. The workers in the control group will be followed for 6 and 9 months after enrollment to collect the rate of return to work in this group.

Read the detailed description

Occupational injury results in family economic crisis and national productivity loss; it is really becoming an important issue in our society. Low back pain is the most frequent injury affecting workers. In addition to the prevention of injury, having a work-hardening program and getting the injured workers returned to work are also challenges for medical personnel. The purposes of this study are:

  1. to develop a guideline to assess the low back pain workers' impairment and working capacity;
  2. to formulate a feasible work-hardening program for the low back pain workers; and
  3. to execute the program, evaluate the training effect and then follow up the rate of return to work of the low back pain workers.

In the first year, a guideline for assessment of low back impairment and working capacity will be developed. It may consist of the demographic data, the working status, the physical need in work, trunk muscle isokinetic strength, Oswestry low back disability questionnaire, functional capacity evaluation and quality of life questionnaire. The whole assessment package will be empirically applied in low back pain workers and the validity and reliability will be tested. A work-hardening program for low back pain workers will be established in the first year through meetings and literature review. The work-hardening program will consist of training of trunk muscle strength, flexibility, and general fitness. A sling-exercise-training model will be applied in the program. In the second year, low back pain workers in outpatient departments will be recruited with their own agreement and grouped randomly into either the work-hardening group or the control group. The expected number of subjects is 30 in each group. According to the result of impairment assessment and work capacity, the workers in the work-hardening group will start the individualized work-hardening program for 3 months. After the program, the workers will be assessed again to evaluate the training's effect, and the investigators will follow the rate of return to work among them 3 and 6 months after the program. The workers in the control group will be followed for 6 and 9 months after enrollment to collect the rate of return to work in this group.

Conditions
Low Back Pain
Being tested
work-hardening program
Keywords
work hardening, chronic low back pain over 3 months
Medical subject headings
Low Back Pain

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • work-hardening programBehavioural

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. functional capacity evaluation, Oswestry disability index

Secondary outcomes (1)
  1. low back pain, work hardening

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted12 Sep 2005 (estimated)
  2. Study startAug 2002
  3. Primary completionDec 2004
  4. Study completionSep 2007

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Allocation
Non-randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
60 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00155662
Sponsor's protocol ID
9100002906
Status last verified
Dec 2012
First submitted
9 Sep 2005
Last updated
6 Dec 2012
Results posted
No

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing work-hardening program in people with Low Back Pain, run by National Taiwan University Hospital at 1 site in Taiwan.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 0 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 6 Dec 2012. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Taiwan. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

functional capacity evaluation, Oswestry disability index. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 6 Dec 2012.

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