Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of Participants.
| Characteristic | No. (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical Care (n = 88) | Group Exercise (n = 84) | Manual Therapy/Individualized Exercise (n = 87) | |
| Age, mean (SD), y | 72.0 (7.4) | 72.9 (8.1) | 72.1 (8.1) |
| Male | 42 (48) | 45 (54) | 35 (40) |
| Race | |||
| White | 68 (77) | 66 (79) | 67 (77) |
| Black | 19 (22) | 18 (21) | 19 (22) |
| Other | 1 (1) | 0 | 1 (1) |
| Married | 40 (45) | 43 (51) | 42 (48) |
| Household income >$40 000/y | 41 (48) | 39 (46) | 38 (44) |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 31.2 (6.3) | 30.8 (6.5) | 31.2 (7.1) |
| Smoking status | |||
| Never | 37 (42) | 35 (42) | 41 (47) |
| Used to, but quit | 41 (47) | 46 (55) | 40 (46) |
| Current | 7 (8) | 2 (2) | 6 (7) |
| Duration of back symptoms, mo | |||
| ≤6 | 7 (8) | 12 (14) | 7 (8) |
| >6 | 81 (92) | 72 (86) | 80 (92) |
| Duration of leg symptoms, mo | |||
| ≤6 | 22 (25) | 26 (31) | 20 (23) |
| >6 | 66 (75) | 58 (69) | 67 (77) |
| Diagnostic imaging resultsa | |||
| Central canal stenosis | 45 (51) | 51 (61) | 48 (55) |
| Lateral recess stenosis | 66 (75) | 65 (77) | 69 (79) |
| Foraminal stenosis | 72 (82) | 66 (79) | 75 (86) |
| Spondylolisthesis present | 48 (55) | 45 (54) | 56 (64) |
| Osteoarthritis | |||
| Hip | 14 (16) | 14 (17) | 15 (17) |
| Knee | 32 (36) | 21 (25) | 29 (33) |
| No. of comorbidities, mean (SD) | 4.9 (2.2) | 4.4 (2.2) | 4.7 (2.1) |
| Ankle-brachial index, mean (SD)b | 1.1 (0.2) | 1.0 (0.1) | 1.0 (0.2) |
| Swiss Spinal Stenosis questionnaire, mean (SD)c | |||
| Symptom severity subscore | 20.1 (4.4) | 20.4 (4.2) | 20.5 (4.4) |
| Physical function subscore | 11.3 (2.5) | 11.2 (2.6) | 11.2 (2.5) |
| Total score | 31.3 (5.8) | 31.6 (6.0) | 31.6 (6.1) |
| Oswestry Disability Index, mean (SD)d | 38.1 (11.9) | 38.7 (13.5) | 38.1 (13.2) |
| Pain intensity, mean (SD) | |||
| Leg | 5.2 (3.4) | 5.1 (2.8) | 4.9 (2.9) |
| Back | 6.8 (2.6) | 6.2 (2.4) | 6.5 (2.7) |
| Gait speed, mean (SD), meters/s | 0.9 (0.2) | 1.0 (0.2) | 0.9 (0.2) |
| Self-paced walking test, m walkede | |||
| Mean (SD) | 482.2 (529.1) | 433.4 (421.2) | 449.2 (485.2) |
| Median (IQR) | 262.9 (119.9-633.7) | 286.4 (146.7-556.3) | 300.5 (112.7-563.4) |
| Physical activity, mean (SD), min/d in activities >1.5 MET unitsf | 167.4 (130.1) | 157.0 (125.5) | 172.0 (133.4) |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); IQR, interquartile range; MET, metabolic equivalent of task.
a
Percentages do not add up to 100 because participants could have more than 1 diagnostic imaging result.
b
Normal range is 0.9 to 1.3; lower ratio indicates worse peripheral circulation.
c
Symptom severity range is 7 to 35; physical function range, 5 to 20; total score range, 12 to 55; higher scores indicate worse symptoms/function.
d
Score range is 0 to 100; higher scores indicate worse function.
e
No defined range; total distance walked in 0 to 30 minutes.
f
Greater than 1.5 MET units is considered nonsedentary activity.