Table 2.
Participant-reported self-efficacy and self-care-related outcomes following Alexander Technique lessons compared with usual care alone at 6 and 12 months.
| Outcome | 6 months |
12 months |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Technique lessons Mean (SD; N) | Usual care alone Mean (SD; N) | Difference from usual care alone (95% CI) | p-value | Alexander Technique lessons Mean (SD; N) | Usual care alone Mean (SD; N) | Difference from usual care alone (95% CI) | p-value | |
| Chronic Pain Self-efficacy Scale [scored 0: ‘totally unconfident' to 8:' totally confident'; higher scores indicate greater self efficacy] | 5.05 (1.69; 134) | 3.92 (1.52; 139) | 1.09 (0.63 to 1.55) | <0.001 | 5.01 (1.78; 137) | 4.14 (1.68; 139) | 0.81 (0.37 to 1.24) | 0.001 |
| Perceived Stress Scale [0 to 16; lower scores indicate less stress] | 5.54 (3.27; 136) | 5.67 (3.23; 144) | -0.02 (-0.84 to 0.80) | 0.97 | 5.63 (3.32; 139) | 5.84 (3.48; 140) | -0.12 (-0.79 to 0.54) | 0.70 |
| 'Can you use/apply things you learned from the care in everyday life situations, to reduce pain?' [0:'never' to 4: ‘everyday'] | 2.72 (1.10; 130) | 1.45 (1.11; 125) | 1.30 (0.94 to 1.66) | <0.001 | 2.59 (1.13; 140) | 1.48 (1.09; 128) | 1.11 (0.83 to 1.38) | <0.001 |
| 'To what extent are you able to put into practice the advice or teaching you received?' [0: ‘not at all' to 10: ‘completely] | 6.59 (2.41; 116) | 4.28 (3.20; 43) | 2.20 (0.91 to 3.50) | 0.002 | 6.21 (2.64; 126) | 5.16 (3.26; 44) | 1.01 (-0.20 to 2.21) | 0.10 |
| 'To what extent are the changes you have been making helpful to you?' [0: ‘not at all' to 10: ‘completely] | 6.62 (2.64; 117) | 4.29 (2.98; 45) | 2.23 (0.96 to 3.50) | 0.001 | 6.28 (2.66; 123) | 4.91 (2.95; 46) | 1.21 (0.04 to 2.38) | 0.04 |
| Yes/No response questions | n/N answering ‘yes' (%) | n/N answering ‘yes' (%) | Odds ratio (95% CI) | p-value | n/N answering ‘yes' (%) | n/N answering ‘yes' (%) | Odds ratio (95% CI) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'Did you learn to improve the way you live and care for yourself?' | 106/131 (80.9) | 29/128 (22.7) | 15.32 (8.79 to 26.68) | <0.001 | 117/135 (86.7) | 31/123 (25.2) | 23.98 (10.02 to 57.41) | <0.001 |
| 'Did you make any changes related to': | N = 143 | N = 148 | N = 145 | N = 144 | ||||
| Diet | 12 (8.4) | 8 (5.4) | 1.82 (0.60 to 5.47) | 0.29 | 20 (13.8) | 13 (9.0) | 1.69 (0.88 to 3.25) | 0.12 |
| Exercise | 47 (32.9) | 27 (18.2) | 2.12 (1.12 to 3.98) | 0.02 | 60 (41.4) | 24 (16.7) | 3.51 (1.99 to 6.21) | <0.001 |
| Relaxation | 93 (65.0) | 13 (8.8) | 19.76 (10.37 to 37.63) | <0.001 | 95 (65.5) | 16 (11.1) | 17.45 (8.92 to 34.14) | <0.001 |
| Rest | 74 (51.7) | 8 (5.4) | 20.31 (9.15 to 45.06) | <0.001 | 77 (53.1) | 18 (12.5) | 8.33 (4.64 to 14.99) | <0.001 |
| Work | 55 (38.5) | 5 (3.4) | 20.95 (8.68 to 50.54) | <0.001 | 55 (37.9) | 12 (8.3) | 6.98 (3.19 to 15.24) | <0.001 |
Adjustments were made for baseline NPQ score, duration of neck pain, age, gender and city as a fixed effect and GP practice as a random effect using robust standard errors; CI: confidence interval.