BACKGROUND CONTEXT The multiplicity of bio-psychosocial and economic facets of chronic disabling back and/or neck pain complicates treatment outcomes measurement. Our previous work showed that personal functional goal achievement contributed more toward patient satisfaction with outcome than did traditional self-reports of pain and physical function or measured strength, flexibility and endurance among functional restoration program (FRP) graduates with chronic disabling back and/or neck pain. PURPOSE The primary goal was to compare the impact on patient satisfaction of pain and functional goal achievement versus self-reports of pain and physical function. STUDY DESIGN/SAMPLE This was an observational study of all patients with chronic disabling back and/or neck pain completing an FRP between 6/08 and 5/09. OUTCOME MEASURES Prior to treatment, participants recorded personal 3-month goals for: pain, work, recreation and activities of daily living. At least 3 months later, all graduates were sent a follow-up survey displaying the patient’s pretreatment functional goals and eliciting the patient’s assessment of functional goal achievement; current pain magnitude, “satisfaction with the overall results for your pain problem;” and responses to the SF-36v2 Physical Functioning subscale (PF-10). METHODS Pain goal achievement was calculated as the difference between the pre-treatment pain goal and follow-up pain magnitude. Linear regression was used to evaluate the associations between satisfaction and four variables (follow-up pain; PF-10; pain goal achievement; function goal achievement), individually and then together in a full model. RESULTS Of the 82 patients surveyed, 62 responded completely. Mean age was 44 years, with 48% female and 35% on worker’s compensation. The model R2 combining all four variables explained 0.6033 of the variance in satisfaction. Each variable by itself was significantly related to patient satisfaction at p < .001, but the overlap in association was large. The unique contributions (R2) to the variation in satisfaction were: function goal achievement: 0.0471; PF-10 score: 0.0229; pain magnitude: 0.0178; and pain goal achievement: 0.0020. CONCLUSIONS At least 3 months after treatment, function goal achievement had by far the greatest impact on patient satisfaction, followed by PF-10 score, pain magnitude, and finally, pain goal achievement. Functional goal achievement has great potential as a tool for patient-centered treatment decision-making and outcomes measurement for people with chronic disabling back and/or neck pain and their health care providers.

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