Article type
Year
Abstract
Introduction:
Objectives: The objective of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of multidisciplinary rehabilitation for specified musculoskeletal disorders among working age adults.
Methods: The reviewed studies were identified from electronic bibliographic databases, the Science Citation Index, reference checking and consulting experts in the rehabilitation field. Four blinded reviewers selected the randomized controlled trials, controlled trials and comparative studies that met the specified inclusion criteria. Two experts in the field of rehabilitation evaluated the relevance and applicability of the findings of the selected studies to actual clinical use. Two other blinded reviewers extracted the data and assessed the main results and the methodological quality of the studies using standardized forms. Finally, a qualitative analysis evaluated the level of scientific evidence for the effectiveness of multidisciplinary rehabilitation.
Results: After screening 1808 abstracts, and the references of 65 reviews, we found only 12 relevant studies that satisfied our criteria. None of these was considered methodologically a high quality randomized controlled trial. There were also deficiencies in the description of study populations, interventions and results. The level of scientific evidence for the effectiveness of multidisciplinary rehabilitation was moderate for subacute low back pain, and limited for neck and shoulder pain, repetitive strain injuries, fibromyalgia and multilocational musculoskeletal pain.
Discussion: We conclude that there appears to be little scientific evidence for the effectiveness of multidisciplinary rehabilitation in these musculoskeletal disorders. Acceptable evidence for clinical recommendations was found only for subacute low back pain. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation is a commonly used intervention for chronic musculoskeletal disorders, which cause much personal suffering and substantial economic loss to the society. There is an urgent need for high quality trials in this field.
Objectives: The objective of this systematic review was to determine the effectiveness of multidisciplinary rehabilitation for specified musculoskeletal disorders among working age adults.
Methods: The reviewed studies were identified from electronic bibliographic databases, the Science Citation Index, reference checking and consulting experts in the rehabilitation field. Four blinded reviewers selected the randomized controlled trials, controlled trials and comparative studies that met the specified inclusion criteria. Two experts in the field of rehabilitation evaluated the relevance and applicability of the findings of the selected studies to actual clinical use. Two other blinded reviewers extracted the data and assessed the main results and the methodological quality of the studies using standardized forms. Finally, a qualitative analysis evaluated the level of scientific evidence for the effectiveness of multidisciplinary rehabilitation.
Results: After screening 1808 abstracts, and the references of 65 reviews, we found only 12 relevant studies that satisfied our criteria. None of these was considered methodologically a high quality randomized controlled trial. There were also deficiencies in the description of study populations, interventions and results. The level of scientific evidence for the effectiveness of multidisciplinary rehabilitation was moderate for subacute low back pain, and limited for neck and shoulder pain, repetitive strain injuries, fibromyalgia and multilocational musculoskeletal pain.
Discussion: We conclude that there appears to be little scientific evidence for the effectiveness of multidisciplinary rehabilitation in these musculoskeletal disorders. Acceptable evidence for clinical recommendations was found only for subacute low back pain. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation is a commonly used intervention for chronic musculoskeletal disorders, which cause much personal suffering and substantial economic loss to the society. There is an urgent need for high quality trials in this field.