A "people-like-me" approach to predict individual recovery following lumbar microdiscectomy and physical therapy for lumbar radiculopathy.

Background Context: Lumbar microdiscectomy is an effective treatment for short-term pain relief and improvements in disability in patients with lumbar radiculopathy, however, many patients experience residual pain and long-term disability. The 'people like me' approach seeks to enhance personalized prognosis and treatment effectiveness, utilizing historical data from similar patients to forecast individual outcomes.

Purpose: The primary objective was to develop and test the 'people-like-me' approach for leg pain intensity and disability at 12-month follow-up after lumbar microdiscectomy and postoperative physical therapy.

The CROM-VAS Test: A novel and reliable clinical test to assess immediate pain relief following treatment for movement-evoked neck pain.

Background: The CROM-VAS Test is a novel method to quantify immediate hypoalgesic treatment effects for neck pain by measuring the reduction in pain intensity (using a VAS) at the same (sub)maximal neck position (using a CROM device) before and after treatment. It is a novel test designed to quantify immediate pain relief following treatment, without the potentially confounding effects of simultaneous improvements in function.

Objectives: (1) To describe the CROM-VAS Test, (2) To assess reliability and absolute agreement of the CROM-VAS Test, and (3) To evaluate its distinctiveness by comparing it to changes in pressure pain threshold (PPT) and baseline pain scores.

'Leaving my comfort zone'. A qualitative study of physiotherapists' experiences blending an eHealth psychosocial intervention with face-to-face physiotherapy.

Background: Many physiotherapists do not feel adequately equipped to address psychosocial risk factors in people with complex pain states. Hence, a biopsychosocial blended intervention (Back2Action) was developed to assist physiotherapists to manage people with persistent spinal pain and coexisting psychosocial risk factors associated with the development or maintenance of persistent pain.

Objective: This study aimed to gain insight into the experiences of physiotherapists with this blended psychosocial intervention.

(Cost-)effectiveness of personalised multimodal physiotherapy compared to surgery in patients with cervical radiculopathy: A systematic review.

Rationale: Cervical radiculopathy is initially typically managed conservatively. Surgery is indicated when conservative management fails or with severe/progressive neurological signs. Personalised multimodal physiotherapy could be a promising conservative strategy.

How people with persistent pain experience in-person physiotherapy blended with biopsychosocial digital health - A qualitative study on participants' experiences with Back2Action.

Background: A blended intervention consisting of in-person physiotherapy and psychologically-informed digital health, called Back2Action, was developed to optimise the management of people with persistent spinal pain who also have psychosocial risk factors associated with the development or maintenance of persistent pain. This study aimed to gain insights in how participants experienced this blended intervention.

Methods: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted.

Systemic Inflammation, Sleep, and Psychological Factors Determine Recovery Trajectories for People With Neck Pain: An Exploratory Study.

We conducted an explorative prospective cohort study with 6 months follow-up to 1) identify different pain and disability trajectories following an episode of acute neck pain, and 2) assess whether neuroimmune/endocrine, psychological, behavioral, nociceptive processing, clinical outcome, demographic and management-related factors differ between these trajectories. Fifty people with acute neck pain (ie, within 2 weeks of onset) were included. At baseline, and at 2, 4, 6, 12, and 26 weeks follow-up, various neuroimmune/endocrine (eg, inflammatory cytokines and endocrine factors), psychological (eg, stress symptoms), behavioral (eg, sleep disturbances), nociceptive processing (eg, condition pain modulation), clinical outcome (eg, trauma), demographic factors (eg, age), and management-related factors (eg, treatment received) were assessed.

Nociceptive, neuropathic, or nociplastic low back pain? The low back pain phenotyping (BACPAP) consortium's international and multidisciplinary consensus recommendations.

The potential to classify low back pain as being characterised by dominant nociceptive, neuropathic, or nociplastic mechanisms is a clinically relevant issue. Preliminary evidence suggests that these low back pain phenotypes might respond differently to treatments; however, more research must be done before making specific recommendations. Accordingly, the low back pain phenotyping (BACPAP) consortium was established as a group of 36 clinicians and researchers from 13 countries (five continents) and 29 institutions, to apply a modified Nominal Group Technique methodology to develop international and multidisciplinary consensus recommendations to provide guidance for identifying the dominant pain phenotype in patients with low back pain, and potentially adapt pain management strategies.

Lifestyle factors and psychological factors are associated with central pain processing in service members with persistent low-back pain: A cross-sectional exploratory study.

Persistent low-back pain (LBP) is highly prevalent in the military. Altered central pain processing is one of the mechanisms found to underlie persistent LBP. Our aim was to explore which factors are associated with altered pain processing in Dutch service members with persistent LBP.

The impact of being overweight or obese on 12 month clinical recovery in patients following lumbar microdiscectomy for radiculopathy.

Background Context: The proportion of patients who undergo lumbar microdiscectomy due to lumbar radiculopathy who are also overweight or obese is high. However, whether high body mass index (BMI) affects clinical outcomes is not well-studied.

Purpose: To investigate the difference in the clinical course between normal weight, overweight, and obese patients with radiculopathy who underwent lumbar microdiscectomy followed by physical therapy and to evaluate whether high BMI is associated with poor recovery.

The potential protective effects of pre-injury exercise on neuroimmune responses following experimentally-induced traumatic neuropathy: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Pre-clinical evidence shows that neuropathy is associated with complex neuroimmune responses, which in turn are associated with increased intensity and persistence of neuropathic pain. Routine exercise has the potential to mitigate complications of future nerve damage and persistence of pain through neuroimmune regulation. This systematic review aimed to explore the effect of pre-injury exercise on neuroimmune responses, and other physiological and behavioural reactions following peripheral neuropathy in animals.

Risk assessment of vascular complications following manual therapy and exercise for the cervical region: diagnostic accuracy of the International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists framework (The Go4Safe project).

Question: What is the diagnostic accuracy of the International Federation of Orthopaedic Manipulative Physical Therapists (IFOMPT) framework to assess the risk of vascular complications in patients seeking physiotherapy care for neck pain and/or headache?

Design: Cross-sectional diagnostic accuracy study.

Participants: One hundred and fifty patients seeking physiotherapy for neck pain and/or headache in primary care.

Methods: Nineteen physiotherapists performed the index test according to the IFOMPT framework.

Variability of Active Cervical Range of Motion Within and Between Days in Healthy Participants: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the intraday and interday variability and systematic change over the day of active cervical range of motion (aCROM) measurements in asymptomatic persons using a clinically applicable measurement device.

Methods: A prospective observational study was performed. Sixteen adults (8 men and 8 women, median age 51 years) without neck pain in the last 3 months were recruited in 2 physiotherapy practices.

Immediate systemic neuroimmune responses following spinal mobilisation and manipulation in people with non-specific neck pain: a randomised placebo-controlled trial.

Spinal mobilisation/manipulation is a common intervention for spinal pain, yet the working mechanisms are largely unknown. A randomised placebo-controlled trial was conducted to (1) compare the immediate neuroimmune responses following spinal mobilisation/manipulation and placebo spinal mobilisation/manipulation; (2) compare the immediate neuroimmune responses of those with a good outcome with those of a poor outcome following spinal mobilisation/manipulation; and (3) explore the association between neuroimmune responses and pain reduction. One hundred patients were randomly allocated to spinal mobilisation/manipulation or a placebo mobilisation/manipulation.

The (cost-)effectiveness of combined lifestyle interventions for people with persistent low-back pain who are overweight or obese: A systematic review.

Introduction: Lifestyle factors are expected to contribute to the persistence and burden of low-back pain (LBP). However, there are no systematic reviews on the (cost-)effectiveness of combined lifestyle interventions for overweight or obese people with LBP.

Aim: To assess whether combined lifestyle interventions are (cost-)effective for people with persistent LBP who are overweight or obese, based on a systematic review.

The effects of aerobic exercise on neuroimmune responses in animals with traumatic peripheral nerve injury: a systematic review with meta-analyses.

Background: Increasing pre-clinical evidence suggests that aerobic exercise positively modulates neuroimmune responses following traumatic nerve injury. However, meta-analyses on neuroimmune outcomes are currently still lacking. This study aimed to synthesize the pre-clinical literature on the effects of aerobic exercise on neuroimmune responses following peripheral nerve injury.

Exploratory Study of Associations and Agreement between Prognostic Patient-Registered Factors, Physiotherapists' Intuitive Synthesis, and Patient-Reported Factors in Whiplash-Associated Disorders.

Background: A large proportion of people who sustain a whiplash injury will have persistent pain, disability, and participation problems. Several prognostic factors for functional recovery have been reported in the literature but these factors are often evaluated based on differing implementations in clinical practice. Additionally, physiotherapists also rely on their clinical intuition to estimate the functional prognosis of their patients, but this is seldom measured in experimental research.

Novice assessors demonstrate good intra-rater agreement and reliability when determining pressure pain thresholds; a cross-sectional study.

Background: Experienced assessors show good intra-rater reproducibility (within-session and between-session agreement and reliability) when using an algometer to determine pressure pain thresholds (PPT). However, it is unknown whether novice assessors perform equally well. This study aimed to determine within and between-session agreement and reliability of PPT measurements performed by novice assessors and explored whether these parameters differed per assessor and algometer type.

Variability in recovery following microdiscectomy and postoperative physiotherapy for lumbar radiculopathy: A latent class trajectory analysis.

Objectives: The clinical course of lumbar radiculopathy following microdiscectomy and post-operative physiotherapy varies substantially. No prior studies assessed this variability by deriving outcome trajectories. The primary aims of this study were to evaluate the variability in long-term recovery after lumbar microdiscectomy followed by post-operative physiotherapy and to identify outcome trajectories.