Articles: low-back-pain.
-
Clinical Trial
Morning Bright Light Treatment for Chronic Low Back Pain: Potential Impact on the Volatility of Pain, Mood, Function, and Sleep.
Most treatment outcome studies for people with chronic low back pain (CLBP) have based analyses on and reported only the mean levels of these factors. However, high levels of pain, mood, function, and sleep volatility may represent unique factors contributing to diminished quality of life. Our goal was to determine whether bright light treatment affected both mean levels of pain, mood, function, and sleep and reduced volatility in these outcomes. ⋯ Changes in mean levels and volatility were independent factors, suggesting that bright light treatment was related to participants experiencing fewer "pain flares." These findings underscore the potential importance of volatility as a future treatment target.
-
Although previous research has demonstrated high rates of inappropriate diagnostic imaging, the potential influence of several physician-level characteristics is not well established. ⋯ Inappropriate imaging continues to be a driver of wasteful health care spending. Both physician experience and specialty training were highly associated with inappropriate imaging.