Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of participants in each of the intervention groups
| Characteristic | Rest | Exercise | All |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number enrolled | 49 | 51 | 100 |
| Age [mean, SD] | 47 ± 9.8 | 45 ± 8.9 | 46 ± 9.3 |
| Sex [female %] | 33 (67) | 35 (69) | 68 (68) |
| BMI [median, IQR] | 25 (22-27) | 25 (24-29) | 25 (23-28) |
| BMI distribution [N (%)] | |||
| Underweight < 18.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Normal range 18.5 to 24.9 | 25 (51) | 24 (47) | 49 (49) |
| Overweight 25 to 30 | 16 (33) | 17 (33) | 33 (33) |
| Obese > 30 | 8 (16) | 10 (20) | 18 (18) |
| Smoking (Yes (%)) | 23 (47) | 18 (35) | 41 (41) |
| Heavy smoking (> 20 cigarettes/day) (N (%)) | 3 (6) | 3 (6) | 6 (6) |
| Employed (Yes (%)) | 34 (69) | 39 (76) | 73 (73) |
| Unemployed (Yes (%)) | 7 (15) | 6 (12) | 13 (13) |
| Disability pension (Yes (%)) | 4 (9) | 2 (4) | 6 (6) |
| Applied disability pension (Yes (%)) | 3 (6) | 3 (6) | 6 (6) |
| Type of occupation (N (%)) | |||
| Sitting | 11 (22) | 6 (12) | 17 (17) |
| Mostly walking | 17 (35) | 23 (45) | 40 (40) |
| Walking and some lifting | 11 (22) | 12 (24) | 23 (23) |
| Hard physical work | 10 (20) | 10 (20) | 20 (20) |
| Education (Number (%)) | |||
| Basic school 8 to 10 grade | 17 (35) | 14 (28) | 31 (31) |
| High school | 2 (4) | 2 (4) | 4 (4) |
| Vocational education | 20 (41) | 21 (41) | 41 (41) |
| Academic, maximum 4 years | 10 (20) | 12 (25) | 22 (22) |
| Academic, > 4 years | 0 (0) | 2 (4) | 2 (2) |
| Sick leave (Yes (%)) | 18 (37) | 20 (39) | 38 (38) |
| Sick leave last year Number (%)) | |||
| 0 days | 8 (16) | 9 (18) | 17 (17) |
| 1 to 30 days | 17 (35) | 19 (37) | 36 (36) |
| 31 to 365 days | 24 (48) | 23 (45) | 47 (47) |
| Complaint or compensation case (Yes (%)) | 5 (10) | 3 (6) | 8 (8) |
| Pre-trial exercise therapy (Number (%)) | 30 (61) | 23 (45) | 53 (53) |
| MCs Type I (%) | 38 (78) | 40 (78) | 78 (78) |
| MCs Type II (%) | 30 (61) | 31 (61) | 61 (61) |
| MCs Type III (%) | 9 (18) | 4 (8) | 13 (13) |
| Pain NRS (0 to 10) (mean ± SD) | 5.6 ± 1.5 | 5.1 ± 2.2 | 5.3 ± 1.9 |
| Disability RMQ-23 (mean ± SD) | 12.0 ± 4.0 | 13.3 ± 4.8 | 12.6 ± 4.4 |
| General health EQindex (mean ± SD) | 0.68 ± 0.12 | 0.62 ± 0.18 | 0.65 ± 0.15 |
| General health EQVAS (mean ± SD) | 54 ± 18 | 53 ± 20 | 53 ± 19 |
| Depression BDI | 10.7 ± 6.1 | 9.6 ± 5.9 | 10.2 ± 6.0 |
BDI, Beck Depression Inventory; BMI, body mass index; EQ-5D, EuroQol; IQR, interquartile range; NRS, numeric rating scale; RMQ, Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire; SD, standard deviation.