News
CHRC TALKS#3
The MyBack and SPLIT Projects had a notable presence at the 3rd CHRC Talks event, entitled “REVOLUTIONARY PROJECTS AIMED TO MUSCULOSKELETAL DISEASES TREATMENTS”. Researchers from ESS/Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, presented innovative solutions to combat these challenges.
The SPLIT Project focuses on optimizing care delivery and cost-effectiveness for individuals grappling with low back pain. It involves the implementation of an innovative stratified treatment process, transitioning patients from General Practice to Physiotherapy in primary healthcare. The MyBack Project, aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a personalized self-management program to prevent recurrences in individuals who have recovered from episodes of low back pain. Simultaneously, it seeks to assess the acceptability, feasibility, and outcomes of an implementation strategy designed to facilitate its adoption among both users and healthcare professionals. Both projects were designed not only to reduce the burden of musculoskeletal conditions on the population, but also to implement cost-effective and non-invasive strategies for affected patients.
These projects were presented by researchers Luís Gomes (SPLIT) and Diogo Pires (MyBack) from CHRC and ESS/ Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal. Researcher Rita Fernandes raised pertinent questions about their implementation and integration into the National Health System. The session was moderated by Joana Alves, a researcher from CHRC and ENSP-NOVA.
For further details, you can watch the video of the 3rd session of CHRC Talks at https://www.youtube.com/live/oWCmnKnhdd8?si=dFLrMxGZS7d9-JU1. Also, the full article about this Talk is available at CHRC Talks#3 - Revolutionary projects towards to musculoskeletal diseases treatments.
2023 European Researchers' Night
On September 29, 2023, the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, in collaboration with the Setúbal Municipal Council, once again participated in the European Commission's initiative, the European Researchers' Night, and the Myback Project was present for the second consecutive year. This year, the event took place at Casa da Baía in Setúbal, with the theme "Building Bridges: The Dialogue between Science and Society."
The European Researchers' Night is an initiative aimed at bringing researchers and society closer together, providing the public with insight into the work being conducted and highlighting its impact on various aspects of the social sphere.
The various activities organized by researchers, including workshops, hands-on activities, guided tours, discussions with researchers, and entertaining moments for visitors of all ages, took place between 10:30 AM and 10:00 PM. These activities aimed to demonstrate how the public can engage more deeply with scientific advancements that will shape the future of education and science communication.
Themes such as health and well-being, sustainability, regional development, education, technology, and society were represented by various researchers and presented to the visitors at Casa da Baía.
The Myback Project was represented by the Ph.D. fellow Diogo Moço and the Research Fellow Ana Nobre. Direct interactions with the public, from the youngest to the elderly, were promoted to informally introduce the project. Furthermore, moments of physical fitness assessment and subsequent prescription of adapted clinical exercise were conducted to showcase the work being carried out with project participants.
MyBack Project presence at "4th CHRC Annual Summit"
On May 25th and 26th, 2023, the 4th edition of the CHRC Annual Summit took place. The event had the participation of several members of the Research Team from the Myback Project, with 2 posters being presented and 2 oral presentations being delivered.
The poster titled "How is low back pain being managed in primary healthcare? Findings from a scoping review on models of care," authored by Ph.D. student and research fellow Susana Tinoco Duarte, presented a synthesis of the main characteristics and common elements of Models of Care for managing low back pain implemented in primary healthcare settings. On the other hand, the poster titled "Can physical/performance-based tests predict low back Pain recurrence?" aimed to present the objectives of the Ph.D. project of physiotherapist and research fellow Diogo Moço, regarding physical fitness tests and the identification of physical or performance factors that may be related to the recurrence of low back pain.
The oral presentation given by Professor Rita Fernandes was titled "Can physical impairments predict low back pain recurrence? An inception cohort study" and aimed to present the objectives of the project that was submitted in late March under the RESTART Program of the Foundation for Science and Technology. The project aims to understand associations between physical impairments/alterations (cardiorespiratory capacity, endurance strength, flexibility, and motor control) and the recurrence of low back pain, as well as the time until the occurrence of a new episode. The last oral presentation was delivered by Susana Tinoco Duarte and was titled "Models of care for low back pain patients in primary healthcare: a scoping review on implementation processes and outcomes." This presentation also synthesized the existing evidence in the literature regarding the implementation of Models of Care for low back pain in primary healthcare, specifically analyzing implementation strategies, evaluation processes, and changes in outcomes related to users, organizational issues, and implementation.
The Start of the Myback Project
On March 24, 2023, the Myback Project began the recruitment and intervention phase in people at risk of recurrent episodes of low back pain. The Project was approved by the Ethics Committee for Health of the Alentejo Regional Health Administration and received authorization from the Clinical and Health Council of ACES Alentejo Central.
Myback Project in "Sábado" Magazine
The Myback Project was featured in the 978th edition (January 26 to February 1, 2023) of the "Sábado" magazine. In an edition dedicated to Low Back Pain, Dr. Eduardo Brazete Cruz and Dr. Helena Canhão highlighted the problem of low back pain recurrence, both for individuals and for the National Health Service. The Myback Project was approached in the interview as something innovative and adapted to individuals, whose objective is to mitigate this problem, reducing the number of recurrences and consultations for this reason. The training given to 15 physiotherapists was also highlighted, who are now able to intervene in people at risk of low back pain recurrence.
Myback Research Fellow Completes Master's Degree in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy
On December 19, 2022, our Research Fellow Luís Alexandre Meneses Moniz defended his master's thesis, entitled "Using the Behaviour Change Wheel to Develop Interventions to Promote the Adoption of Regular Exercise Practice in Patients at Risk of Low Back Pain Recurrence: The MyBack Training Programme and The MyBack Intervention Programme", obtaining 19 values (out of 20) as final score.
This study aimed to develop two interventions informed by behavioral change, to promote the adoption of regular exercise practice in patients at risk of low back pain recurrence. Barriers and facilitators to the promotion and adoption of this behavior were explored by physiotherapists and patients, and the phases of the "Behavior Change Wheel" informed the development of the interventions. The analysis revealed 13 barriers and 23 facilitators to the implementation of a behavior change-informed exercise intervention at the physiotherapist level, and literature review and focus groups revealed 18 barriers and 19 facilitators for the target behavior of patients.
The information obtained at the physiotherapist level allowed the identification of 7 intervention functions and 27 behavioral change techniques, which resulted in the development of the MyBack Training Program. On the other hand, the information obtained at the patient level allowed the selection of 7 intervention functions and 30 behavioral change techniques, resulting in the development of the MyBack Intervention Program.
MyBack Project presence at "3rd CHRC Annual Summit"
On November 3 and 4, 2022, the 3rd CHRC Annual Summit took place at the MMM Auditorium of NOVA Medical School of the NOVA University of Lisbon. This scientific event aims to bring together researchers from the Comprehensive Health Research Center, providing moments of sharing and learning. Several sessions were held with national and international speakers, as well as oral and poster presentations on the research projects developed at CHRC. The MyBack project was represented by several members of its research team, with two posters presented and an oral presentation given.
The posters, entitled “Supporting the Implementation of the MyBack Programme in Primary Care: Design of a training course informed by the Behaviour Change Wheel” and “The MyBack Programme: Development of a theory-driven exercise and behavioural change programme to prevent recurrences of low back pain”, describe the systematic development process of the MyBack Training Programme for physiotherapists and the MyBack Intervention Programme for patients, respectively.
The oral presentation "Exploring barriers and facilitators to the implementation of the MyBack programme in primary care: a qualitative study" aimed to present the results related to the barriers and facilitators identified by physiotherapists for the implementation of the MyBack Intervention Programme, and the adoption of regular exercise by patients. The abstract of this presentation will be included in the 3rd CHRC Annual Summit Book of Abstracts and published in the Portuguese Journal of Public Health.
MyBack Training Programme
On June 20, 2022, the first edition of the "MyBack Course - Exercise and Behavioral Change for Prevention of Low Back Pain Recurrence" ended, with the participation of 15 physiotherapists. The course started on May 16, 2022, and was held in a hybrid format, with both online (synchronous and asynchronous) and in-person sessions, totalling 28 hours. Module 1 of the course focused on developing the competencies of physiotherapists to deliver a structured and personalized exercise program, Module 2 focused on developing competencies to facilitate the adoption of regular exercise (behavioral change), and Module 3 focused on supporting the implementation of the MyBack program in different practice locations.
Myback Project in “Ensino Magazine” and “News Engage Farma”
On November 18, 2020, the MyBack project was featured in “Ensino Magazine” and “News Engage Farma”. The news described the project, the team, the institutions involved and the goals, focusing that “the program to be tested, which will be adjusted to the biopsychosocial characteristics and physical capacity of the individuals, aims to promote self-management in individuals at risk of recurrence of low back pain episodes, and aims to enable them to manage, in the long term, their symptoms, preventing functional and occupational disability and reducing the need for frequent use of health resources due to this condition".
