Development and Feasibility Testing of a Mobile-Phone Application for Exercise in Non-Specific Long-Term Low-Back Pain

Abstract

Background: There is still lack of rigorous evaluation and evidence for Low-Back Pain (LBP) apps. The objectives of this study were to develop and evaluate the feasibility of a mobile phone-based app of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT) extension exercise; and to examine the correlation between app rating parameters and pain characteristics of patients with non-specific LBP. Methods: A LBP Self-care Mobile-phone App (LBP-SMA) of MDT plus back hygiene was developed following standard iteration and prototyping process. Feasibility of the LBP-SMA was tested in terms of usability, satisfaction and user’s experience using the system usability scale and mobile application rating scale. Quadruple visual analogue scale was used to assess pain intensity of the participants. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics at alpha level set at 0.05. Results: Participants’ mean age and pain intensity was 33.8 ± 8.72 years and 45.3 ± 7.23. On a unified scale of 20, functionality (18.5 ± 1.704) and engagement (17.1 ± 2.963) had highest and least objective quality rating on the LBPSMA. Total objective and subjective quality rating of the app was 17.9 ± 1.471 and 18.4 ± 1.173 respectively. LBP-SMA total impact and usability score was 27.2 ± 1.911 indicating high impact and 29.6 ± 1.95 indicating moderate usability. Participants reported that LBP-SMA mostly affects happiness/wellbeing (37.1%), leads to increased behavioural change (48.6%) and targets physical health (100%). There was no significant correlation between participants’ pain characteristics and app rating parameters (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The LBP-SMA has moderate to high usability, functionality, aesthetics and quality rating, and may serve as an effective mobile-app for self-management of longterm LBP.