DigiBack

The DigiBack application is used for research purposes only.

Low back pain (LBP) is a major global health problem. While prior research has repeatedly demonstrated altered motor behavior in patients with LBP, its role in LBP recovery remains largely unknown. Longitudinal observations of pain support the existence of individual LBP phenotypes that could benefit from different treatment approaches. It is assumed that such phenotypes also exist for motor behavior, but longitudinal observations of motor behavior with large sample sizes are lacking. Analyzing temporal trajectories of motor behavior simultaneously to those of pain intensity, psychological factors, and disability, is critical to better understand LBP pathomechanisms.

To this end, The DigiBack application has been developed to assess multidimensional factors of LBP. The goal of the app is to allow the conduct of a longitudinal study to follow-up patients with acute and chronic LBP and collect relevant data including answers to questionnaires and spinal motion measurements.

The longitudinal study is expected to be conducted over a period of 6 months with 300 patients with acute and 300 with chronic LBP, which will be recruited through collaborating clinical partners. Spinal motion will be assessed weekly while the other parameters will be assessed from daily to biweekly. Once completed, the collected data will be analysed in order to identify individual/subgroup temporal trajectories using Latent Class Linear Mixed Models, and interrelations investigated using multivariate time-series analyses.

The use of this application is strictly reserved for patients suffering from low back pain who have registered to take part in our study with the Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH) and who have already accepted the various legal clauses required for their participation.