Effectiveness of a lumbopelvic monitor and feedback device to change postural behaviour: a protocol for the ELF cluster randomised controlled trial

Abstract

IntroductionLow back pain (LBP) is the most common, costly and disabling musculoskeletal disorder worldwide, and is prevalent in healthcare workers. Posture is a modifiable risk factor for LBP shown to reduce the prevalence of LBP. Our feasibility research suggests that postural feedback might help healthcare workers avoid hazardous postures. The Effectiveness of Lumbopelvic Feedback (ELF) trial will investigate the extent to which postural monitor and feedback (PMF) can reduce exposure to hazardous posture associated with LBP.MethodsThis is a participant-blinded, randomised controlled trial with blocked cluster random allocation. Participants will include volunteer healthcare workers recruited from aged care institutions and hospitals. A postural monitoring and feedback device will monitor and record lumbopelvic forward bending posture, and provide audio feedback whenever the user sustains a lumbopelvic forward bending posture that exceeds predefined thresholds. The primary outcome measure will be postural behaviour (exceeding thresholds). Secondary outcome measures will be incidence of LBP, participant-reported disability and adherence. Following baseline assessment, we will randomly assign participants to 1 of 2 intervention arms: a feedback group and a no-feedback control group. We will compare between-group differences of changes in postural behaviour by using a repeated measures mixed-effect model analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at 6 weeks. Postural behaviour baseline scores, work-related psychosocial factors and disability scores will be input as covariates into the statistical models. We will use logistic mixed model analysis and Cox's proportional hazards for assessing the effect of a PMF on LBP incidence between groups.DiscussionPosture is a modifiable risk factor for low back disorders. Findings from the ELF trial will inform the design of future clinical trials assessing the effectiveness of wearable technology on minimising hazardous posture during daily living activities in patients with low back disorders.Trial registration numberACTRN12616000449437.

Effectiveness of a lumbopelvic monitor and feedback device to change postural behaviour: the ELF cluster randomised controlled trial

“…This trial was a participant-blinded, assessor-blinded, sham-controlled, parallel-group, stratified, cluster RCT. A detailed description of the trial can be found in the published protocol 14. The cluster RCT design was used to prevent treatment contamination between participants allocated to the intervention and sham groups 15.…”

“…Therefore, the estimated sample size for the cluster RCT was a minimum of 108 participants, with 15 clusters (approximately 7 participants per cluster). A detailed description of sample size estimation is described in the published protocol 14…”

Wearable Motion Capture Devices for the Prevention of Work-Related Musculoskeletal Disorders in Ergonomics—An Overview of Current Applications, Challenges, and Future Opportunities

“…Additionally, as discussed previously (see Section 3.1.1), the use of wearable motion capture instruments and systems may facilitate the detection of changes in biomechanical exposure due to their ability to collect data over full or several workdays and with high accuracy and precision. While traditional training using feedback often requires the presence of a trained instructor [253], some of the wearable motion capture systems have integrated automated feedback systems [85,87,99,104,105,257], which provide feedback of varies modalities such as audio, visual, or vibrotactile feedback (see Table 12 for an overview of various feedback characteristics), or a combination of several multimodalities.…”

Implicações e benefícios da Smart Rehabilitation nas disfunções neurológicas: uma revisão narrativa

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