SPINE Volume 39, Number 19, p 1629 ©2014, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Spine L etters TO THE EDITOR: Re: Aleksiev AR. Ten-year follow-up o f strengthening versus flexibility exercises with or without abdominal bracing in recurrent low back pain [published ahead o f print June 1, 2014]. Spine 2014;39:997-1003. doi: 10.1097/ BRS.0000000000000338. ith interest, we have read the randomized con trolled trial by Prof. Aleksiev, describing the long-term effect of strengthening versus flexibility exercises and the additional effect of abdominal bracing in recurrent low back pain.1 This randomized controlled trial consisted of a relevant research question on low back pain as a common health issue.2 After reading the article, some ques tions remained. No details are described in the method about patient characteristics (only age was described) and in addi tion, the method of enrollment of patients remains unclear. Knowledge about the sample and setting would indicate the generalizability of this study. No loss to 10-year follow-up was reported. This is quite astonishing for this number of patients (n = 600) in this time frame. It is hard to think that all 600 patients complied with all questionnaires during the complete follow-up period, and
W
therefore we are very interested in the method of obtaining this perfect response rate. All outcome measurements were retrieved at the end of each year concerning pain and exercise during the past year, except for pain duration. In our opinion, this method is prone to recall bias. A patient diary might have limited this bias. We would be interested in the author’s thoughts on these comments. Pieter Vissers Leanne Buitendijk Ligia Maxwell Pereira Department o f General Practice Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands References 1. Aleksiev AR. Ten-year follow-up of strengthening versus flexibility exercises with or without abdominal bracing in recurrent low back pain. Spine 2014;39:997-1003. 2. Vassilaki M, Hurwitz EL. Insights in public health: perspectives on pain in the low back and neck: global burden, epidemiology, and management. Hawaii J Med Public Health 2014;73:122-6.
The manuscript submitted does not contain information about medical device(s)/drug(s). No funds were received in support of this work. No relevant financial activities outside the submitted work. DOI: 10.1097/B RS.0000000000000491 S p in e
www.spinejournal.com
1629
Copyright of Spine is the property of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
Spine L etters TO THE EDITOR: Re: Aleksiev AR. Ten-year follow-up o f strengthening versus flexibility exercises with or without abdominal bracing in recurrent low back pain [published ahead o f print June 1, 2014]. Spine 2014;39:997-1003. doi: 10.1097/ BRS.0000000000000338. ith interest, we have read the randomized con trolled trial by Prof. Aleksiev, describing the long-term effect of strengthening versus flexibility exercises and the additional effect of abdominal bracing in recurrent low back pain.1 This randomized controlled trial consisted of a relevant research question on low back pain as a common health issue.2 After reading the article, some ques tions remained. No details are described in the method about patient characteristics (only age was described) and in addi tion, the method of enrollment of patients remains unclear. Knowledge about the sample and setting would indicate the generalizability of this study. No loss to 10-year follow-up was reported. This is quite astonishing for this number of patients (n = 600) in this time frame. It is hard to think that all 600 patients complied with all questionnaires during the complete follow-up period, and
W
therefore we are very interested in the method of obtaining this perfect response rate. All outcome measurements were retrieved at the end of each year concerning pain and exercise during the past year, except for pain duration. In our opinion, this method is prone to recall bias. A patient diary might have limited this bias. We would be interested in the author’s thoughts on these comments. Pieter Vissers Leanne Buitendijk Ligia Maxwell Pereira Department o f General Practice Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands References 1. Aleksiev AR. Ten-year follow-up of strengthening versus flexibility exercises with or without abdominal bracing in recurrent low back pain. Spine 2014;39:997-1003. 2. Vassilaki M, Hurwitz EL. Insights in public health: perspectives on pain in the low back and neck: global burden, epidemiology, and management. Hawaii J Med Public Health 2014;73:122-6.
The manuscript submitted does not contain information about medical device(s)/drug(s). No funds were received in support of this work. No relevant financial activities outside the submitted work. DOI: 10.1097/B RS.0000000000000491 S p in e
www.spinejournal.com
1629
Copyright of Spine is the property of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
