TTM-based counselling in physiotherapy does not contribute to an increase of adherence to activity recommendations in older adults with chronic low back pain – A randomised controlled trial

Heinz-Dieter Basler, Helmut Bertalanffy, Sabine Quint, Axel Wilke and Udo Wolf

The present study examines the outcome of counselling in physiotherapy based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) in a sample of elderly individuals with chronic low back pain.  Elderly individuals with chronic low back pain were allocated to two treatment conditions. Both contained 10 sessions of physiotherapy, each of 20 min duration. In addition, the experimental group (EG) received 10 min counselling prior to every session based on the TTM, also provided by the physiotherapist, and the control group (CG) underwent a placebo ultrasound treatment with an inactivated device to control for the additional attention given to the EG. The results show that the study does not provide evidence that a short TTM-based motivation programme is superior to placebo treatment regarding adherence to activity recommendations.

European Journal of Pain, Volume 11, Issue 1, January 2007, Pages 31-37

View Abstract

Full article withAthens login