• Annika Viniol, Nikita Jegan, Oliver Hirsch, Corinna Leonhardt, Markus Brugger, Konstantin Strauch, Jürgen Barth, Erika Baum, and Annette Becker.
• Department of General Practice / Family Medicine, Philipps University of Marburg, Karl-von-Frisch-Str, 4, 35043 Marburg, Germany. annika.viniol@staff.uni-marburg.de.
• Bmc Musculoskel Dis. 2013 Jan 1;14:294.

BackgroundDue to the heterogeneous nature of chronic low back pain (CLBP), it is necessary to identify patient groups and evaluate treatments within these groups. We aimed to identify groups of patients with CLBP in the primary care setting.MethodsWe performed a k-means cluster analysis on a large data set (n = 634) of primary care patients with CLBP. Variables of sociodemographic data, pain characteristics, psychological status (i.e., depression, anxiety, somatization), and the patient resources of resilience and coping strategies were included.ResultsWe found three clusters that can be characterized as "pensioners with age-associated pain caused by degenerative diseases", "middle-aged patients with high mental distress and poor coping resources", and "middle-aged patients who are less pain-affected and better positioned with regard to their mental health".ConclusionsOur results supported current knowledge concerning groups of CLBP patients in primary care. In particular, we identified a group that was most disabled and distressed, and which was mainly characterized by psychological variables. As shown in our study, pain-related coping strategies and resilience were low in these patients and might be addressed in differentiating treatment strategies. Future studies should focus on the identification of this group in order to achieve effective treatment allocation.Trial RegistrationGerman Clinical Trial Register DRKS00003123.

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