Baseline characteristics of the patients*
| Lumbar fusion | Cognitive intervention and exercises | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All randomised (n=66) | Crossover/withdrawals (n=11)† | All randomised (n=58) | Crossover/withdrawals (n=17)† | |
| Age (years) | 42.7±8.0 | 43.9±7.3 | 42.4±8.0 | 42.1±7.7 |
| No of men (%) | 27 (41) | 7 (64) | 29 (50) | 8 (47) |
| Years from first pain episode | 8.9±7.9 | 8.1±7.9 | 9.6±7.4 | 12.2±9.6 |
| Married/living together no (%) | 57 (86) | 10 (91) | 49 (81) | 15 (88) |
| Occupational education <3 years no (%) | 45 (68) | 8 (27) | 38 (66) | 9 (53) |
| Work status no (%) | ||||
| Working | 9 (14) | 2 (18) | 9 (16) | 1 (6) |
| On sick leave | 14 (21) | 3 (27) | 16 (28) | 5 (29) |
| On rehabilitation | 29 (44) | 3 (27) | 22 (38) | 7 (41) |
| Disability pension | 10 (15) | 3 (27) | 10 (17) | 4 (24) |
| Student, homemaker, unemployed | 3 (5) | 1 (2) | ||
| Retirement pension | 1 (2) | |||
| Back pain (0–100)‡ | 63.0±14.7 | 64.2±15.5 | 64.6±12.5 | 65.2±12.0 |
| Oswestry disability index§ | 44.5±10.7 | 45.3±10.1 | 44.2±11.0 | 47.0±7.8 |
| Emotional distress (1–4)¶ | 1.9±0.5 | 1.9±0.7 | 1.9±0.5 | 1.9±0.5 |
| Previous surgery for disc herniation no (%) | 29 (44) | 4 (36) | 31 (53) | 8 (47) |
| Beliefs in surgery** | 69.7±18.2 | 62.1±17.7 | 72.4±20.3 | 70.3±16.5 |
| Beliefs in non-surgical treatment** | 40.1±25.4 | 42.1±24.5 | 44.5±25.1 | 44.0±24.7 |
| Comorbidity no (%) | 24 (36) | 6 (55) | 18 (31) | 6 (35) |
| Taking analgesics daily or weekly no (%) | 40 (61) | 4 (36) | 40 (69) | 16 (94) |
| Smoking no (%) | 36 (55) | 4 (36) | 30 (52) | 9 (53) |
↵* Plus–minus values are means±SD.
↵† Three patients allocated lumbar fusion died, four did not have and four had cognitive intervention and exercises. Fourteen patients allocated cognitive intervention and exercises had surgery.
↵‡ Back pain ranges from 0 to 100, with lower scores indicating less severe symptoms.
↵§ The Oswestry disability index ranges from 0 to 100, with lower scores indicating less severe symptoms.
↵¶ Emotional stress ranges from 1 to 4, with lower scores indicating less severe symptoms.
↵** Beliefs ranges from 0 to 100, with lower scores indicating not efficient.