Comparing Two Chronic Low Back Pain Intervention Models:Spouse-Assisted vs. Patients-Oriented

This study examined the comp-arative efficacy of a Spouse-Assisted Coping Skills Training protocol for patients undergoing a Multidiscip-linary Pain Management Program (SA-MPMP) with conventional Patie-ntoriented Multidisciplinary Pain Ma-nagement Program (P-MPMP). 24 married low back pain patients and their spouse were randomly assigned to each of the three con-ditions.Patients in SA-MPMP together with their spouses, attended 7 weekly, 2-h group sessions of training in dyadic pain coping and couple skills which were delivered by a multidisciplinary team. Patients in P-MPMP condition received aforementioned trainings without their partner’s participation and assistance. Data analysis revealed that SA-MPMP had significant imp-rovements in Kinesiophobia and perceived negative spouse response to activity compared to P-MPMP. An intervention that combines spouse-assisted coping skills training with a multidisciplinary program can imp-rove fear of movement and perceived spouse response in patients suffering from chronic low back pain.