Effectiveness Of A Multi-phase Back Program Implemented In An Employee Wellness Facility

Abstract

70-85% of all people have back pain at some time in their life. The annual prevalence of back pain ranges from 15% to 45%, with point prevalence averaging 30%. Mayo Clinic employs 33,000 allied health staff, scientists, and physicians in Rochester, MN. From the above data, it can be inferred that roughly 23,000-28,000 employees will experience back pain at some time in their lives with 5,000-15,000 experiencing back pain this year. PURPOSE: To determine if participation in an eight week comprehensive low back fitness program, improves the muscle strength and muscle balance of an individual, thereby theoretically decreasing risk of injury. METHODS: Sixty-two participants completed the Mayo Clinic Healthy Back Program in a three year period. Registration is limited to ten participants who meet for 45-60 minutes, twice per week, for 8 weeks. The program has four distinct phases which include the Awareness, Stabilization, Strength, and Maintenance phases. Each phase is 3-5 sessions in length. The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) is used to evaluate program participants one week prior to the program beginning and one week after the program has ended. RESULTS: An FMS score of 14 has been identified as a threshold score which separates individuals that are at a high risk of injury from those that are at a low risk of injury. At pre-testing, 55 (88.7%) participants had scores equal to or less than 14 (high risk). At post testing, this number decreased to 33 (53.2%) (p<0.0001, McNemar’s test) in the high risk category. None of the participants went from low risk of injury (score >14) to high risk of injury (score≤14), and 22 (35.5%) of the participants started at high risk of injury and moved to low risk of injury. The average FMS score for all participants improved to 14.2 from 10.8. On average, participants increased their score by 3.5 points (95% CI: 2.8 to 4.0), which was statistically significant (p<0.0001, paired t-test). 54 of the 62 participants improved their score by at least 1 point. CONCLUSIONS: Various studies support the theory that muscle weakness and imbalance, leading to an FMS score of 14 or less, leads to an increase in injury risk. In our study, participation in an eight week comprehensive low back fitness program performed at an employee fitness center, improved FMS scores in a significant number of individuals, with over one third of the group moving to a level of lowered injury risk.