Clinical Trial: Predictive Models for Spine and Lower Extremity Injury After Discharge From Rehab

Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Observational

Official Title: Development of Predictive Models for Lower Extremity, Lumbar, and Thoracic Injury After Discharge From Physical Rehabilitation

Brief Summary:

The purpose of this study is to develop algorithms that will help predict future injury and/or re-injury after being returned to duty from a musculoskeletal injury. After completion of an episode of care with a physical therapist, the subjects will undergo a battery of physical performance tests and fill out associated surveys. The subjects will then be followed for a year to identify the occurrence/re-occurence of any injuries. Based on the performance on the physical evaluation tests, algorithms will be derived using regression analysis to predict injury.

Subjects will be recruited from the pool of patients that have recently completed physical rehabilitation in physical therapy clinics for their lower extremity or lumbar/thoracic spine injury.

Detailed Summary:

Subjects will be recruited across 4 medical centers after having completed a regimen of physical therapy for a spine or lower extremity injury. Upon discharge back to full duty, they will be given the opportunity to enroll in the study and undergo a battery of physical performance tests and associated surveys. The subjects will then be followed for a year to identify the occurrence of any injuries. Prediction algorithms will be derived using regression analysis to predict injury based on performance on the physical evaluation tests.

The overall hypothesis is that Service Member performance on a battery of physical performance tests performed upon discharge from care and return to duty, will be able to predict 1) the risk of sustaining any injury as well as 2) reoccurrence of the same injury that they were seeking care for during the year following discharge from rehabilitation. The current assumption is that when a Service Member is discharged from medical care, it has been done based on the expectation that it is appropriate and safe for them to return to function in their operational environment. Because history of prior injury is a well-established risk factor, every single Service Member that is returned to duty after medical care for a musculoskeletal (MSK) injury is already at a higher risk for future injury than his or her non-injured counterpart. The investigators hypothesize that decreased performance on the proposed testing protocol will be related to increase in the risk of 1 year-injury and recurrence of injury. Successfully identifying those at increased risk of recurrence provides the ability for secondary and tertiary prevention programs to optimize return to duty rates. Injury will be defined as any new musculoskeletal injury or the re-occurrence of the same injury during the 1-year surveillance period.

The
Sponsor: Brooke Army Medical Center

Current Primary Outcome: Injury Occurrence [ Time Frame: 1 year ]

Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome: Injury-Related Healthcare Utilization [ Time Frame: 1 year ]

Original Secondary Outcome: Same as current

Information By: Brooke Army Medical Center

Dates:
Date Received: May 17, 2016
Date Started: January 2016
Date Completion: March 2019
Last Updated: December 6, 2016
Last Verified: December 2016