Table 1.
Baseline description of study participants by treatment group
| Yoga | Stretching | Self-care | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL, N | 92 | 91 | 45 | 228 |
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| Demographics
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| Age, mean (SD), yrs | 46.6 (9.8) | 49 (9.91) | 50.8 (9.07) | 48.4 (9.79) |
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| Women, N (%) | 62 (67%) | 57 (63%) | 27 (60%) | 146 (64%) |
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| College graduate, N (%) | 54 (59%) | 59 (65%) | 28 (62%) | 141 (62%) |
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| White, N (%) | 80 (87%) | 76 (84%) | 43 (96%) | 199 (87%) |
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| Hispanic, N (%) | 2 (2%) | 3 (3%) | 2 (4%) | 7 (3%) |
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| Married, N (%) | 71 (77%) | 60 (66%) | 34 (76%) | 165 (72%) |
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| Family income > $45,000/yr, N (%) | 79 (87%) | 72 (83%) | 34 (80%) | 185 (84%) |
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| Employment, N (%)
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| None | 13 (14%) | 11 (12%) | 5 (11%) | 29 (13%) |
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| Lifts less than 20 lbs at job | 58 (64%) | 54 (60%) | 25 (56%) | 137 (61%) |
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| Lifts 20 lbs + at job | 20 (22%) | 25 (28%) | 15 (33%) | 60 (27%) |
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| Smoker, N (%) | 2 (2%) | 4 (4%) | 3 (7%) | 9 (4%) |
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| Obese (BMI>=30), N (%) | 26 (28%) | 28 (31%) | 15 (34%) | 69 (31%) |
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| MHI-5 score, mean (SD)
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| Mental health component | 45.6 (4.0) | 45.5 (4.3) | 45.3 (3.7) | 45.5 (4.0) |
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| Back Pain History
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| Began > 1 year ago, N (%) | 85 (92%) | 80 (89%) | 41 (91%) | 206 (91%) |
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| Lasted > 1 year, N (%) | 74 (81%) | 55 (63%) | 34 (76%) | 163 (73%) |
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| Years of low back pain, mean (SD) | 10.6 (10.6) | 11.1 (9.24) | 10.3 (10. 6) | 10.8 (10) |
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| Pain below knee, N (%) | 13 (14%) | 13 (14%) | 11 (24%) | 37 (16%) |
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| Days of back pain in last 6 months, mean (SD) | 147 (47.2) | 128 (53.5) | 143 (50.9) | 139 (51) |
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| > 7 days restricted activity due to LBP in the past month, N (%) | 24 (26%) | 19 (21%) | 14 (31%) | 57 (25%) |
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| > 1 Days in bed due to LBP in past month, % | 12 (13%) | 12 (13%) | 4 (9.0%) | 28 (12%) |
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| > 1 Day of work lost due to LBP in past month, N(%) | 8 (9%) | 8 (9%) | 3 (7%) | 19 (9%) |
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| Baseline Outcomes
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| Roland Disability Questionnaire (RDQ), mean (SD) | 9.8 (5.2) | 8.6 (4.0) | 9.0 (5.0) | 9.1 (4.7) |
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| Eligibility bothersomeness score, mean (SD) | 5.7 (1.7) | 5.4 (1.7) | 5.4 (1.8) | 5.5 (1.7) |
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| Baseline bothersomeness score, mean (SD) | 4.9 (1.9) | 4.5 (1.9) | 4.7 (2.5) | 4.7 (2.1) |
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| Pain Management
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| Hours of back exercise in past week, mean (SD) | 0.4 (0.6) | 0.3 (0.4) | 0.5 (0.5) | 0.3 (0.5) |
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| 3+ days of back exercise in past week, N (%) | 25 (27%) | 21 (23%) | 18 (41%) | 64 (28%) |
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| Hours of active exercise in past week, mean (SD) | 2.4 (3.3) | 2.4 (2.5) | 2.5 (2.5) | 2.4 (2.8) |
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| 3+ days of active exercise in past week, N (%) | 47 (51%) | 50 (55%) | 26 (58%) | 123 (54%) |
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| Medication, N (%)
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| Used any medication for LBP in past week, N(%) | 52 (57%) | 59 (65%) | 24 (53%) | 135 (59%) |
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| Used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for back pain in past week, N(%) | 37 (40%) | 47 (52%) | 16 (36%) | 100 (44%) |
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| Used narcotic analgesics for back pain in past week, N (%) | 9 (10%) | 6 (7%) | 2 (4%) | 17 (7%) |
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| Injected medication, N (%) | 10 (11%) | 6 (7%) | 3 (7%) | 19 (8%) |
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| Very satisfied with overall care for LBP, N (%) | 15 (18%) | 17 (22%) | 8 (21%) | 40 (20%) |
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| Expectation of Helpfulness (11 point scale)
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| Yoga class, median | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Exercise class, median | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 |
| Self-care book, median | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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| Preferred Treatment
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| Yoga, N (%) | 24 (26%) | 29 (32%) | 12 (27%) | 65 (29%) |
| Exercise, N (%) | 19 (21%) | 15 (17%) | 10 (22%) | 44 (19%) |
| Other, N (%) | 49 (53%) | 47 (52%) | 23 (51%) | 119 (52%) |
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|
Prior Yoga Experience
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| Ever attended a yoga class, N (%) | 45 (49%) | 38 (42%) | 17 (38%) | 100 (44%) |
Abbreviations: LBP = Lower Back Pain; RDQ = Roland Disability Questionaire; SD = Standard Deviation; MHI = Mental Health Inventory.