The association of the involvement of financial compensation with the outcome of cervicobrachial pain that is treated conservatively.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the influence of the involvement of financial compensation on the results of physiotherapeutic McKenzie treatment on cervicobrachial pain. METHODS: A prospective study was carried out with a cohort of 60 patients referred to two spine clinics after they had experienced at least 5 weeks of neck pain radiating to the arm. Follow-up was performed 1 yr later using a validated questionnaire to measure the outcomes of neck and arm pain, disability, the use of analgesics and the perceived effect of the treatment as reported by the patient. RESULTS: At follow-up, there was no improvement in the group of patients for whom financial compensation was involved, whereas the group for whom compensation was involved showed highly significant improvement. CONCLUSIONS: Despite uniform selection criteria and similarity of complaints and treatment protocols, the involvement of financial compensation seemed to be associated with an adverse effect on treatment results for patients with cervicobrachial pain who were treated conservatively.

[Significance of unresolved financial compensation for the course of cervical root compression]. / Betydningen af uafklaret økonomisk kompensation for forløbet af nerverodstryk i nakken.

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of claims for financial compensation on the results of physiotherapeutic McKenzie treatment for cervical nerve root compression. This study was based on prospectively collected data for quality assurance purpose with baseline classification and included a follow-up postal questionnaire to measure the outcomes: Neck and arm pain, disability, use of analgesics and the perceived effect of the treatment registered by the patient. At baseline, patients with or without compensation issues were identical in regard to their neurological and clinical signs. The study showed that 6-12 months later there was no improvement in six out of seven patients with claims for compensation involvement, in contrast to the 21 patients without claims for financial compensation who all showed significant improvement. The results applied to all five outcome measures. In conclusion, compensation involvement seems to act as a negative factor on treatment results for patients with cervical nerve root compression who were treated conservatively.