Baseline Patient Characteristics by Main Effects Group
| Characteristic | OMT vs Sham OMT | UST vs Sham UST | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OMT (n = 230) | Sham OMT (n = 225) | UST (n = 233) | Sham UST (n = 222) | Total (N = 455) | |
| Age, median (IQR), y | 41 (29-51) | 40 (29-50) | 38 (29-50) | 43 (30-51) | 41 (29-51) |
| Women, No. (%) | 144 (63) | 140 (62) | 134 (58) | 150 (68) | 284 (62) |
| Completed college education, No. (%) | 107 (47) | 93 (41) | 102 (44) | 98 (44) | 200 (44) |
| Employed full-time, No. (%) | 110 (48) | 105 (47) | 114 (49) | 101 (45) | 215 (47) |
| Medically uninsured, No. (%) | 86 (37) | 77 (34) | 79 (34) | 84 (38) | 163 (36) |
| Current smoker, No. (%) | 61 (27) | 58 (26) | 61 (26) | 58 (26) | 119 (26) |
| Comorbid conditions, No. (%) | |||||
| Hypertension | 42 (18) | 29 (13) | 34 (15) | 37 (17) | 71 (16) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 19 (8) | 15 (7) | 17 (7) | 17 (8) | 34 (7) |
| Osteoarthritis | 17 (7) | 16 (7) | 15 (6) | 18 (8) | 33 (7) |
| Depression | 44 (19) | 46 (20) | 41 (18) | 49 (22) | 90 (20) |
| Duration of chronic LBP >1 y, No. (%) | 118 (51) | 110 (49) | 119 (51) | 109 (49) | 228 (50) |
| Previously hospitalized for LBP, No. (%) | 13 (6) | 8 (4) | 9 (4) | 12 (5) | 21 (5) |
| Previously had surgery for LBP, No. (%) | 5 (2) | 5 (2) | 3 (1) | 7 (3) | 10 (2) |
| VAS score for LBP (mm) median (IQR)a | 44 (25-61) | 45 (28-60) | 44 (29-60) | 44 (23 to 61) | 44 (26-60) |
| Roland-Morris disability score, median (IQR)b | 5 (3-9) | 5 (3-10) | 5 (3-10) | 5 (3-9) | 5 (3-9) |
| SF-36 general health score, median (IQR)c | 67 (57-82) | 72 (52-85) | 72 (56-85) | 67 (52-82) | 72 (52-82) |
| Used drugs for LBP during past 4 wk, No. (%) | |||||
| Nonprescription | 115 (50) | 107 (48) | 119 (51) | 103 (46) | 222 (49) |
| Prescription | 27 (12) | 32 (14) | 36 (15) | 23 (10) | 59 (13) |
IQR = interquartile range; LBP = low back pain; OMT = osteopathic manual treatment; SF-36 = Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Health Survey; UST = ultrasound therapy; VAS = visual analog scale.
↵a VAS (0-100 mm) used to measure LBP, with higher scores indicating more pain.
↵b Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (0-24 points) used to measure back-specific functioning, with higher scores indicating greater disability.
↵c SF-36 general health scale (0-100 points) used to measure generic health, with higher scores indicating better health.