Use of primary healthcare services before and after specialized rehabilitation and its relation to changes in health and functioning: a longitudinal cohort study.

Objective: To examine patients' use of primary healthcare (PHC) before and after specialized rehabilitation and its relation with self-reported health and functioning.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Participants: 451 rehabilitation patients.

Effect of sense of coherence on long-term work participation among rehabilitation patients: a longitudinal study.

Objective: To investigate the causal effect of sense of coherence on long-term work participation after rehabilitation, including stratification by age and diagnoses.

Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Participants: Patients aged ≤ 60 years, employed and accepted for somatic interprofessional rehabilitation in 2015 (n = 192).

Body awareness and cognitive behavioral therapy for multisite musculoskeletal pain: patients` experiences with group rehabilitation.

Background: An extended group program called Mind and Body (MB), based on body awareness exercises and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), was offered to a subgroup of patients who had completed their traditional outpatient multidisciplinary rehabilitation and were motivated for further treatment.

Purpose: To explore how patients with multisite musculoskeletal pain experienced participation in the MB program with respect to usefulness, meaningfulness, behavioral changes, and transferability to daily life and work.

Method: The study is rooted in the phenomenological tradition.

Cytokine Patterns as Predictors of Antibiotic Treatment Effect in Chronic Low Back Pain with Modic Changes: Subgroup Analyses of a Randomized Trial (AIM Study).

Objective: Randomized trials testing the effect of antibiotics for chronic low back pain (LBP) with vertebral bone marrow changes on MRI (Modic changes) report inconsistent results. A proposed explanation is subgroups with low grade discitis where antibiotics are effective, but there is currently no method to identify such subgroups. The objective of the present study was to evaluate whether distinct patterns of serum cytokine levels predict any treatment effect of oral amoxicillin at one-year follow-up in patients with chronic low back pain and Modic changes at the level of a previous lumbar disc herniation.

Long-Term Change and Predictors of Change in Physical and Mental Function after Rehabilitation: A Multi-Centre Study.

Objective: To investigate changes and predictors of change in physical and mental function over a 3-year period after rehabilitation.

Design: Prospective cohort.

Participants: Patients, across diseases, living in western Norway, accepted for somatic specialized interprofessional rehabilitation (n = 984).

Minimal important change was on the lower spectrum of previous estimates and responsiveness was sufficient for core outcomes in chronic low back pain.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the minimal important change (MIC) and responsiveness of core patient reported outcome measures for chronic low back pain (LBP) and Modic changes.

Study Design And Setting: In the Antibiotics in Modic changes (AIM) trial we measured disability (RMDQ, ODI), LBP intensity (NRS) and health-related quality of life (EQ5D) electronically at baseline, three- and 12-month follow-up. MICs were estimated using Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) curve and Predictive modeling analyses against the global perceived effect.

Correlation between gene expression and MRI STIR signals in patients with chronic low back pain and Modic changes indicates immune involvement.

Disability and distress caused by chronic low back pain (LBP) lacking clear pathoanatomical explanations cause huge problems both for patients and society. A subgroup of patients has Modic changes (MC), identifiable by MRI as vertebral bone marrow lesions. The cause of such changes and their relationship to pain are not yet understood.

Effect of Early Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation for Trauma Patients: A Systematic Review.

Objective: To perform a systematic review to assess the current scientific evidence concerning the effect of EIR for trauma patients with or without an associated traumatic brain injury.

Data Source: We performed a systematic search of several electronic (Ovid MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library Central Register of Controlled Trials, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, and SveMed+) and 2 clinical trial registers (clinicaltrials.gov and International Clinical Trials Registry Platform).

The effect of infliximab in patients with chronic low back pain and Modic changes (the BackToBasic study): study protocol of a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial.

Background: Low back pain is common and a significant number of patients experience chronic low back pain. Current treatment options offer small to moderate effects. Patients with vertebral bone marrow lesions visualized as Modic changes on magnetic resonance imaging may represent a subgroup within the low back pain population.

Clinical effect modifiers of antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and Modic changes - secondary analyses of a randomised, placebo-controlled trial (the AIM study).

Background: Randomised trials on antibiotic treatment for patients with chronic low back pain and vertebral endplate changes visible on MRI (Modic changes) have shown mixed results. A possible explanation might be a real treatment effect in subgroups of the study populations. The purpose of the present study was to explore potential clinical effect modifiers of 3-months oral amoxicillin treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and type I or II Modic changes at the level of a previous lumbar disc herniation.

Association of Modic change types and their short tau inversion recovery signals with clinical characteristics- a cross sectional study of chronic low back pain patients in the AIM-study.

Background: Modic Changes (MCs, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) signal changes in the vertebral bone marrow extending from the vertebral endplate) may represent a subgroup of nonspecific chronic low back pain that could benefit from a specific management. The primary aim was to compare clinical characteristics between patients with type 1 versus type 2 MCs. The secondary aim was to explore associations between clinical characteristics and MC related short tau inversion recovery (STIR) signals.

Neck pain associated with clinical symptoms in dizzy patients-A cross-sectional study.

Objective: Many patients suffer from concurrent neck pain and dizziness. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical symptoms and physical findings in patients with concurrent neck pain and dizziness and to examine whether they differ from patients with dizziness alone.

Methods: Consecutive patients with dizziness and neck pain were recruited from an ear-nose-throat department and a spine clinic.

Efficacy of antibiotic treatment in patients with chronic low back pain and Modic changes (the AIM study): double blind, randomised, placebo controlled, multicentre trial.

Objective: To assess the efficacy of three months of antibiotic treatment compared with placebo in patients with chronic low back pain, previous disc herniation, and vertebral endplate changes (Modic changes).

Design: Double blind, parallel group, placebo controlled, multicentre trial.

Setting: Hospital outpatient clinics at six hospitals in Norway.

Predictors for Psychological Distress 2 Months After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

To predict psychological distress at 2 months for patients with mild traumatic brain injury. A prospective cohort study of 162 patients with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) admitted consecutively to an outpatient clinic at Haukeland University Hospital, Norway. Demographic data were obtained from Statistics Norway and injury characteristics were obtained from the hospital records.

Cognitive functional therapy in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain-a randomized controlled trial 3-year follow-up.

Objectives: This randomized controlled trial investigated the efficacy of cognitive functional therapy (CFT) compared with manual therapy and exercise (MT-EX) for people with non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) at 3-year follow-up.

Methods: Hundred and twenty-one patients were randomized to CFT (n = 62) or MT-EX (n = 59). Three-year data were available for 30 (48.

Symptom severity and quality of life in patients with concurrent neck pain and dizziness.

There is little knowledge on how neck pain impacts dizzy patients, and if different diagnoses of dizziness associate with neck pain. The aim was to examine differences in dizziness severity, quality of life and demographics in dizzy patients with and without neck pain. Additionally, we examined if neck pain was associated with a non-vestibular or vestibular diagnosis.

Measuring pressure pain threshold in the cervical region of dizzy patients-The reliability of a pressure algometer.

Objectives: A tool for measuring neck pain in patients with dizziness is needed to further investigate the relationship between the two symptoms. The objective of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of a hand-held pressure algometer in measuring pressure pain threshold (PPT) in different cervical regions of dizzy patients.

Methods: PPT was measured at two bilateral standardized sites of the neck by a trained physiotherapist in 50 patients with dizziness.

Modic changes-Their associations with low back pain and activity limitation: A systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Background: Previous systematic reviews have reported positive associations between Modic changes (MCs) and low back pain (LBP), but due to their narrow scope and new primary studies, there is a need for a comprehensive systematic review. Our objectives were to investigate if MCs are associated with non-specific LBP and/or activity limitation and if such associations are modified by other factors.

Methods: A protocol for this review was registered at PROSPERO prior to commencing the work (PROSPERO record: CRD42015017350).

Antibiotic treatment In patients with chronic low back pain and Modic changes (the AIM study): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Background: A previous randomised controlled trial (RCT) of patients with chronic low back pain (LBP) and vertebral bone marrow (Modic) changes (MCs) on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), reported that a 3-month, high-dose course of antibiotics had a better effect than placebo at 12 months' follow-up. The present study examines the effects of antibiotic treatment in chronic LBP patients with MCs at the level of a lumbar disc herniation, similar to the previous study. It also aims to assess the cost-effectiveness of the treatment, refine the MRI assessment of MCs, and further evaluate the impact of the treatment and the pathogenesis of MCs by studying genetic variability and the gene and protein expression of inflammatory biomarkers.

Virtual Reality Training for Upper Extremity in Subacute Stroke (VIRTUES): A multicenter RCT.

Objective: To compare the effectiveness of upper extremity virtual reality rehabilitation training (VR) to time-matched conventional training (CT) in the subacute phase after stroke.

Methods: In this randomized, controlled, single-blind phase III multicenter trial, 120 participants with upper extremity motor impairment within 12 weeks after stroke were consecutively included at 5 rehabilitation institutions. Participants were randomized to either VR or CT as an adjunct to standard rehabilitation and stratified according to mild to moderate or severe hand paresis, defined as ≥20 degrees wrist and 10 degrees finger extension or less, respectively.

A longitudinal study investigating how stroke severity, disability, and physical function the first week post-stroke are associated with walking speed six months post-stroke.

Objectives: To investigate to which degree stroke severity, disability, and physical function the first week post-stroke are associated with preferred walking speed (PWS) at 6 months.

Design: Longitudinal observational study.

Method: Participants were recruited from a stroke unit and tested within the first week (baseline) and at 6 months post-stroke.

Total disc replacement versus multidisciplinary rehabilitation in patients with chronic low back pain and degenerative discs: 8-year follow-up of a randomized controlled multicenter trial.

Background Context: Lumbar total disc replacement (TDR) is a treatment option for selected patients with chronic low back pain (LBP) that is non-responsive to conservative treatment. The long-term results of disc replacement compared with multidisciplinary rehabilitation (MDR) have not been reported previously.

Purpose: We aimed to assess the long-term relative efficacy of lumbar TDR compared with MDR.

Multidisciplinary outpatient treatment in patients with mild traumatic brain injury: A randomised controlled intervention study.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a multidisciplinary outpatient follow-up programme compared to follow-up by a general practitioner for patients being at-risk or sick-listed with persistent post-concussion symptoms two months after a mild traumatic brain injury.

Design: Randomised controlled trial.

Patients: One hundred fifty-one patients, 16-56 years.

Is upper limb virtual reality training more intensive than conventional training for patients in the subacute phase after stroke? An analysis of treatment intensity and content.

Background: Virtual reality (VR) training is thought to improve upper limb (UL) motor function after stroke when utilizing intensive training with many repetitions. The purpose of this study was to compare intensity and content of a VR training intervention to a conventional task-oriented intervention (CT).

Methods: A random sample of 50 video recordings was analyzed of patients with a broad range of UL motor impairments (mean age 61y, 22 women).