• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.97-106
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to determine reliability and validity of the Neck Disability Index (NDI) now in use for the first time in neck pain patients of Korea. Fifty subjects (26 males and24 female) with neck pain enrolled in the study. They completed a standardized self-administered questionnaire that include pain intensity, personal care, lifting, reading, headaches, concentration, work, driving, sleeping and recreation. Reliability was determined by intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and Cronbach's alpha by internal consistency. Validity was examined by correlating the NDI scores to the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score. The Test-retest reliability of the translated versions of the NDI was good ICC (2,1) = .90 (95%CI .85 .95). Cronbach's alpha value for NDI was found to be .95 and this was statistically significant (p<.05). The criterion-related validity coefficients was .72 (p<.01). We conclude that the Korean version of NDI has shown to be a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of neck pain.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.94-102
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to review existing assessment tools for patients with low back pain and improve them through combination. A total of 314 patients with low back pain participated. Their condition was assessed using the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ), the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale (QBPD), and the Back Pain Functional Scale (BPFS). Rasch analysis was applied to identify inappropriate items, item difficulties, and the separation index. In this study, the 'sex life' item of the ODQ (10 items) and the 'sleeping' item of the BPFS (12 items) showed misfit statistics, whereas all items of the QBPD (20 items) were appropriate. After combining the ODQ, QBPD and BPFS, Rasch analysis was applied. The 'pain intensity', and the 'sex life' item of the ODQ and the 'throw a ball' item of QBPD showed misfit statistics. These 3 items were retained for further analysis. The remaining 42 combined ODQ-QBPD-BPFS items were arranged according to difficulty. For all subjects, the most difficult item was 'pain intensity', whereas the easiest was 'take food out of the refrigerator'. As the separation index of 42 combined ODQ-QBPD-BPFS was higher than that of the three questionnaires separately, difficulty of items varied with some need for rearrangement. The results of this study confirmed the possibility and need for a new back pain disability assessment tool, and produced one. Further study is needed to refine the questionnaire in consideration of psychosocial and occupational factors.

• Journal of International Academy of Physical Therapy Research
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.2155-2163
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• 2020

Background: Various treatments have been proposed for chronic low back pain (CLBP), but recent guidelines and reviews recommend regular physical exercise. However, some other studies have reported opposite results that sling exercise (SE) and other exercises (OE) did not differ in improving CLBP. Objectives: To systematically review and meta-analyze the effects of SE on CLBP in studies published in Korea. Design: A Systemic Review and Meta-analysis. Methods: Randomized controlled trials comparing SE with OE and modality therapy (MT), published up to June 2020, were identified by electronic searches. Primary outcomes were pain and disability. The weighted mean difference (WMD), stand mean difference (SMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a random-effects model. Results: Based on the results of the meta-analysis, SE was effective for pain in the comparison of SE and MT [short-term: WMD=-1.64, 95% CI (-3.06, -0.22); long-term: WMD=-0.34, 95% CI (-0.42, -0.26)]. It was effective for pain in the comparison of SE and OE [short-term: WMD=-1.18, 95% CI (-2.15, -0.20); long-term: WMD=-0.66, 95% CI (-0.89, -0.43)]. It was also effective for disability in the comparison of SE and MT [short-term: SMD=-15.82, 95% CI (-23.10, -8.54)]. We found no clinically relevant differences in disability between SE and OE. Heterogeneity was high in the comparison of SE and overall variables. Conclusion: If SE is applied to physical therapy to improve the main symptoms of CLBP patients, it may contribute to their recovery. More high-quality randomized studies on the topic are warranted.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.43-47
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• 2005

Background: The optimal management of pain using magnetic irradiation modalities continues to attract considerable debate. Therefore, we conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to determine the effectiveness of pulsed electromagnetic therapy for the treatment of chronic lower back pain. Methods: Fifteen-minute sessions of active (n = 20) or placebo (n = 20) electromagnetic therapy were repeated 3 times a week for 3 weeks. Patients were assessed using the 11-point numerical rating scale and the revised Oswestry disability scores for up to 4 weeks after therapy. Results: The active magnetic group showed significantly more pain reduction than the placebo group immediately after therapy and one and four weeks after therapy (P < 0.05). At 4 weeks after therapy percentage changes in NRS from baseline were $22{\pm}24%$ and $38{\pm}11%$ in the placebo and magnetic groups, respectively. The revised Oswestry disability percentage in the active magnetic group was also significantly improved (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Pulsed electromagnetic therapy provided pain relief and ameliorated disability in patients with chronic lower back pain. According to our results, pulsed electromagnetic therapy should be considered an important potential therapeutic tool for the conservative therapy of chronic lower back pain.

• Journal of muscle and joint health
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.262-277
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to investigate the health status and to examine the relationship between health related variables of the clients with arthritis. This descriptive-correlational study was measured physical health status(pain, fatigue, physical disability, joint flexibility) and psycho-social health status(social function disability, self-efficacy, depression). The clients were consisted of 127 arthritis clients who were randomly selected from health center, 2 sub health center and 6 primary health care center in Wonju City. The data was collected from November 2000 to January 2001. The results of the study analyzed using a SPSS win were as follows: 1) The subjects' average age was 64.81 years old(female: 86.6%, male: 13.4%). 2) In physical health status, the average score of fatigue was 63 scores and pain was 69.77. Physical disability score was higher than total disability score. In psychosocial disability, housekeeping management disability score was higher than social function disability score. In psycho-social health status, the average score of self-efficacy was 70.86 and the subjects have higher level of depression, more than 20 scores. 3) On pain sites, almost of subjects complained of a knee joint pain. The waist, wrist, and shoulder joint pain were followed. The numbers of pain site were 8.3 per individuals. 4) The flexibility of knee and shoulder joint were lower than another joints. 5) Correlation with fatigue, pain, physical disability, social disability, self-efficacy and depression was revealed highly significant. We suggest that health promotion program considering our research results should be provided for arthritis clients in community level.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.64-68
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• 2021

Objective: In clinical practice, there are a lot of exercise to reduce body weight or reduce the amount of body fat in order to solve back pain. However, many studies have contradicted the relationship between back pain and weight or body fat mass. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between fat mass, body mass index and low back pain of office worker. Design: Crossed-sectional study Methods: Among the white-collar workers diagnosed with non-specific back pain by doctors, subjects who were not included in the exclusion criteria were selected to measure the subject's body fat mass, body mass index, pain intensity, and disability index due to back pain. The NPRS was used for the intensity of back pain of office workers, and the ODI was used for the degree of disability due to back pain. A body composition analyzer was used to measure the body fat mass and body mass index of white-collar workers. Results: There was no significant difference between the two groups in the comparison between the normal group and the excessive group according to the criteria of fat mass and body mass index. In the correlation analysis of fat mass, body mass index, pain intensity, and disability index, it was found that there was a significant correlation between fat mass and body mass index. However, neither fat mass nor body mass index had a significant correlation with pain intensity and disability index. Conclusions: The fat mass and body mass index of office worker do not affect low back pain.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.15-29
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• 2024

Background: This study investigated the effects on the range of motion, pain, disability index, and quality of life when applying thoracic mobility exercise in middle-aged women with chronic back pain. Design: pretest-posttest control group design Methods: The study subjects were 32 patients with chronic back pain of 3 months or more among middle-aged women divided 2 groups. All groups were tested thrice a week for 30 minutes per session for four weeks. Each subject was evaluated using the thoracic rotation Range of Motion, the numerical pain rating scale and pressure pain threshold, Disability Index(Oswestry Disability Index), the Quality of Life(SF-36) before and after treatment. Results: As a result of the study, the range of motion at T1 and T2 of the exercise group to which thoracic mobility exercise was applied was significantly increased in both left and right rotations(p<0.05). In the evaluation of pain, the number pain rating scale(NPRS) score decreased significantly(p<0.05), and the pressure pain threshold was significantly increased (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference from the control group. In the evaluation of the disorder index, the Oswestry disorder index decreased significantly after the experiment (p<0.05), and there was a significant difference in group comparison with the control group (p<0.05). In quality of life, there was a significant increase in PCS of SF-36(p<0.05), but there was no significant difference from the control group. Conclusion: Through this study, thoracic mobility exercise can be used as an effective exercise therapy intervention method to improve and promote physical factors of range of motion, pain and disability index, and physical components of quality of life when treating middle-aged women with chronic back pain in the future.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.454-462
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• 2021

Background: This study was performed to reveal the relationships between the cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of the paraspinal muscles and the severity of low back pain (LBP), including the level of disability. Methods: This single-center cross-sectional study was conducted on 164 patients with chronic LBP. The effects of demographic characteristics, posture, level of physical activity, disc herniation type, and sarcopenia risk on the CSAs of paraspinal muscles were evaluated along with the relationship between the CSAs and severity of pain and disability in all patients. The CSAs of paraspinal muscles were evaluated using the software program Image J 1.53. Results: A negative significant correlation was found between age and the paraspinal muscle's CSA (P < 0.05), whereas a positive correlation was present between the level of physical activity and the CSA of the paraspinal muscle at the L2-3 and L3-4 levels. The CSAs of paraspinal muscles in patients with sarcopenia risk was significantly lower than those in patients without sarcopenia risk (P < 0.05). The CSAs of paraspinal muscles at the L2-3 and L3-4 levels in obese patients were significantly higher than those in overweight patients (P = 0.028, P = 0.026, respectively). There was no relationship between the CSAs of paraspinal muscles and pain intensity or disability. Conclusions: Although this study did not find a relationship between paraspinal CSAs and pain or disability, treatment regimens for preventing paraspinal muscles from atrophy may aid pain physicians in relieving pain, restoring function, and preventing recurrence in patients with chronic LBP.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the functional category, the item structure and the model-data fit of the neck disability index (NDI) of neck pain subjects by performing a Rasch rating scale analysis. Methods: The data was obtained from the assessments of 71 college students (males: 27, females: 44) with neck pain. The data of the NDI was applied to the Rasch's rating scale model to estimate the difficulty of items, the goodness-of-fit of each item, the separation reliability and index, and the rating scale. Results: The 'sleep' item showed misfit and nine items were founds to be fits for self-reporting of disability due to neck pain. The most difficult item of the remaining 9 items was 'work' and the easiest item was 'headache'. The transformation formula score=(logit score+7.10)/(7.10+0.11)$\times$100. The 6 response levels of the NDI were validated according to the structure of the rating scale. The item and subject reliability of the separation reliability was 0.97 and 0.85, respectively. Conclusion: We proved that the NDI for self-reporting of disability of daily activities due to mild neck pain was valid and reliable. This study suggests that individuals with mild neck pain may be assessed by using the modified NDI that does not include the 'sleep' item in the 10 items of NDI.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.61-66
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• 2018

Objective: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a condition that is characterized by patellar discomfort or pain that is aggravated during certain activities such as ascending/descending stairs. The Patellofemoral Disability Index (PDI) was developed to assess the effect of pain on functional activities in individuals with PFPS. The objectives of the current study were to determine the internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and validity of this index. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Forty-one subjects who had PFPS with a mean age of $28.8{\pm}5.0years$ and a mean body mass index of $25.6{\pm}4.7kg/m^2$ participated in the study. All subjects were concurrently enrolled in a clinical trial for which they were instructed to complete hamstring-resistance exercises for 4 weeks. Over the course of the intervention, they completed both the PDI and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) at baseline after two weeks, and after four weeks. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the criterion validity. Cronbach's ${\alpha}$ was used to examine the internal consistency. Intraclass correlation coefficients with 95% confidence interval were computed to examine test-retest reliability. Results: Subjects' responses within both the PDI and the ODI yielded Pearson correlation coefficient values that were positive and highly significant (range, 0.73-0.97; p<0.001). There was a high level of internal consistency (Cronbach's ${\alpha}{\geq}0.8$), with the exception of stair climbing (Cronbach's ${\alpha}=0.65$). Intraclass correlation ranged from 0.87 to 0.92, indicating high levels of test-retest reliability. Conclusions: The PDI is a valid, reliable, and feasible method of assessing pain and functional ability in patients with PFPS.