Predictors of attrition in an interdisciplinary pain management program.

Purpose/objective: This study sought to investigate the extent to which demographic and clinical characteristics predict which patients drop out of an interdisciplinary pain management program (IPP).

Research Method/design: Participants ( = 178 outpatients, 18-75 years of age) received treatment for various chronic pain conditions in an IPP (including biopsychosocial assessment, cognitive-behavioral, and physical therapies). Separate logistic regression analyses identified the demographic and clinical variables most predictive of attrition across five domains: (a) demographics, (b) number of medical and non/psychiatric diagnoses, (c) opioid use (yes versus no)/risk of misuse, (d) pain-related cognition and behavior, and (e) physical, social, and mental well-being.

Validity and reliability of dry needle placement in the deep lumbar multifidus muscle using ultrasound imaging: an in-vivo study.

Objectives: To use ultrasound (US) imaging to determine the validity and reliability of needle placement of two dry needling (DN) protocols for the lumbar multifidus (LM) in individuals with a high body mass index (BMI).

Methods: Twenty-one participants with a BMI higher than 25 kg/m completed the study. A US scanner was used to determine the location of needle placement after a 100 mm long needle was inserted in the LM at L4 and L5 following two DN protocols for the deep LM muscle.