Skip to main content
. 2013 Mar;11(2):122–129. doi: 10.1370/afm.1468

Table 3.

Secondary Outcomes by Main Effects Group

Outcome OMT vs Sham OMT
UST vs Sham UST
OMT (n = 230) Sham OMT (n = 225) P Value UST (n = 233) Sham UST (n = 222) P Value
RMDQ score, median (IQR)a
  Week 4 4 (2-8) 5 (2-9) .32 4 (2-9) 5 (2-8) .99
  Week 8 3 (1-7) 3 (2-8) .14 3 (1-8) 4 (1-7) .76
  Week 12 2 (1-6) 3 (1-7) .07 3 (1-7) 3 (1-7) .93
SF-36 GH score, median (IQR)b
  Week 4 71 (55-82) 72 (52-86) .39 72 (54-87) 72 (52-82) .73
  Week 8 72 (57-85) 72 (52-85) .61 72 (54-85) 72 (57-85) .53
  Week 12 72 (52-87) 72 (57-87) .87 72 (52-87) 74 (54-87) .66
Lost 1 or more work days in past 4 weeks because of LBP, % (95% CI)c
  Week 4 10 (4-16) 14 (7-21) .41 16 (9-23) 7 (2-12) .04
  Week 8 6 (2-11) 19 (12-27) .005 17 (10-24) 8 (3-14) .054
  Week 12 11 (5-17) 8 (3-13) .41 13 (6-19) 6 (1-11) .11
Very satisfied with back care, % (95% CI)d
  Week 4 52 (46-59) 34 (28-41) <.001 41 (35-48) 45 (38-52) .44
  Week 8 61 (54-67) 39 (33-46) <.001 49 (43-56) 51 (44-58) .77
  Week 12 66 (60-73) 43 (36-50) <.001 55 (48-61) 55 (48-62) .99
LBP co-treatment during study, % (95% CI)e
  Exercise programs 19 (14-24) 20 (14-25) .82 20 (15-25) 18 (13-24) .73
  Lumbar supports 1 (0-3) 1 (0-2) >.99 1 (0-2) 1 (0-3) .68
  Nonprescription drugs 46 (39-52) 45 (39-52) .95 46 (40-53) 45 (38-51) .71
  Prescription drugs 13 (9-18) 20 (15-26) .048 16 (11-21) 18 (13-23) .54
  CAM therapies 15 (11-20) 17 (12-22) .63 16 (12-21) 16 (11-21) .87
  Physical therapy 11 (7-15) 8 (4-11) .17 9 (5-13) 10 (6-14) .74
  Hospitalization 0 (0-0) 0 (0-1) .49 0 (0-1) 0 (0-0) >.99
  Surgery 0 (0-1) 0 (0-0) >.99 0 (0-0) 0 (0-1) .49

CAM = complementary and alternative medicine; IQR = interquartile range; LBP = low back pain; OMT = osteopathic manual treatment; RMDQ = Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire; SF-36 GH = Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Health Survey general health scale; UST = ultrasound therapy.

a

Higher scores on the RMDQ represent greater disability. P values at each endpoint based on the Mann-Whitney test; N = 455 for all endpoints.

b

Higher scores on the SF-36 GH represent better health. P values at each endpoint based on the Mann-Whitney test; N = 455 for all endpoints.

c

Work disability analyses limited to the 215 patients employed full-time at baseline; n = 207, 211, and 211 at the successive endpoints.

d

n = 416, 426, and 429 at the successive endpoints.

e

N = 455 for all chronic LBP co-treatments.