Identification of Prognostic Indicators for Rehabilitation in Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain Patients

There is a consensus that exercise therapy should be used as a therapy approach in CLBP but little consensus has been reached about the preferential type of therapy. There occurs to be a wash out effect because of the heterogeneous character of CLBP patients. As a result, no effect can be demonstrated for the entire sample. This is why one should consider creating subgroups based on prognostic indicators. Objectives for this trial is to possibly identify prognostic indicators for treatment response to three forms of exercise therapy for patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain (CLBP). The study design is a multicenter cohort design. Patients with nonspecific low back pain of more than three months duration are recruited in two different hospitals (Antwerp University Hospital and Sint Vincentius Hospital). After examination patients are assigned to one of three intervention groups: motor control therapy, isometric training therapy and a combination therapy. All patients will undergo eighteen treatment sessions during nine weeks. Measurements will be taken at baseline and after nine weeks of treatment. The primary outcome used is the Modified Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (MDQ). For each type of exercise therapy prognostic indicators will be investigated. Never before a multi-arm design was performed for the identification of prognostic indicators for exercise therapy in patients with nonspecific CLBP.