ABSTRACT

Low back pain (LBP) is a common health problem usually treated individually, and requires costly physical therapy. Group treatment, besides being cost-effective, provides psychological support to the recovery of people who struggle with a physically disabling condition. The current study compares individual and group treatment of LBP, measuring differences in outcomes and process data (therapeutic factors). The study included 158 patients who participated in group (n = 71) and individual (n = 87) physical therapy, using a pre-post-follow-up design. Results indicated a significant improvement in all outcome measures at postintervention in both treatment settings, with no difference between them, which were sustained at follow-up. On a clinical level, a few differences were found: At postintervention, minimal clinically important improvement in perceived functioning and level of pain was greater among patients treated individually. On the other hand, at follow-up, only group participants gained additionally in perceived functioning and in fear avoidance. Therapeutic factors of other- versus self-focus and problem definition–change were more prevalent in group treatment.

 抽象的

腰痛 (LBP) 是一种常见的健康问题，通常需要单独治疗，并且需要昂贵的物理治疗。团体治疗除了具有成本效益外，还可以为身体残疾患者的康复提供心理支持。目前的研究比较了 LBP 的个体和团体治疗，测量结果和过程数据（治疗因素）的差异。该研究纳入了 158 名患者，他们采用了前后随访设计，参与了团体 ( n = 71) 和个人 ( n = 87) 物理治疗。结果表明，两种治疗环境下，干预后所有结果指标均显着改善，且两者之间没有差异，且在随访中持续存在。在临床水平上，发现了一些差异：在干预后，单独治疗的患者在感知功能和疼痛水平方面的临床意义最小的改善更大。另一方面，在随访中，只有小组参与者在感知功能和避免恐惧方面获得了额外的进步。在团体治疗中，其他治疗因素与自我关注和问题定义改变的治疗因素更为普遍。