Does patient-physiotherapist agreement influence the outcome of low back pain? A prospective cohort study

Table 3 Relationship between agreement at baseline and change in pain intensity at follow-up

Agreement on:	β	95 % CI^c	P
1) Pain intensity
Intercept	-.248	-2.699 – 2.203	.84
Baseline pain intensity	.458	.225 – .692	<.01*
Physiotherapist^a:
Underestimation (n = 4)	-3.328	-5.733 – -.922	<.01*
Overestimation (n = 2)	-.976	-3.998 – 2.046	.52
2) Functional limitations
Intercept	-.829	-4.038 – 2.380	.61
Baseline pain intensity	.235	.038 – .433	.02*
Physiotherapist^b:
Underestimation (n = 13)	.301	-.913 – 1.516	.62
Overestimation (n = 1)	-1.979	-5.963 – 2.005	.33

*p < .05
^aPhysiotherapist over- or underestimation by > 3/10 on the NRS, with control for patient's age, gender and pain duration
^bPhysiotherapist over- or underestimation by > 30 % on the RMDQ, with control for patient's age, gender, current financial compensation and pain duration, as well as physiotherapist's age
^cCI = Confidence interval
Total model (pain intensity) adjusted R ² = .227, p < .01
Total model (functional limitations) adjusted R ² = .331, p < .01

ISSN: 1471-2474