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Table 1 Participant characteristics at baseline

From: 'Which treatment do you believe you received?' A randomised blinding feasibility trial of spinal manual therapy

Characteristic

Overall

(n = 81)

Active SMT

(n = 40)

Placebo SMT

(n = 41)

Gender, no. (%)

   

Women

42 (52)

15 (38)

27 (66)

Men

39 (48)

25 (62)

14 (34)

Other or prefer not to say

0 (0)

0 (0)

0 (0)

Age—yrs, mean (SD)

39.1 (13.2)

39.3 (13.0)

39.0 (13.6)

Weight—kg, mean (SD)

72.3 (14.3)

72.9 (13.1)

71.7 (15.6)

Height—cm, mean (SD)

172.4 (9.7)

174.3 (9.9)

170.5 (9.4)

Body mass index—kg/m2, mean (SD)

24.2 (3.8)

23.8 (2.6)

24.5 (4.7)

SMT lifetime experience, No. (%)a

41 (51)

19 (48)

22 (54)

Recent LBP, no. (%)b

29 (36)

12 (30)

17 (41)

SMT three-month experience, No. (%)c

4 (5)

2 (5)

2 (5)

LBP average intensity in past four weeks—NRS, mean (SD)d

2.4 (2.5)

2.0 (2.2)

2.7 (2.7)

ROM—degrees, mean (SD)e

   

Flexion

116.8 (17.4)

114.7 (19.2)

118.8 (15.6)

Extension

32.3 (11.9)

32.2 (11.2)

32.3 (12.7)

Total

149.0 (24.2)

147.0 (23.1)

151.1 (25.3)

  1. cm centimeters, kg kilograms, LBP low back pain, No. number, NRS Numeric Rating Scale, ROM range of motion; SD, standard deviation; SMT, spinal manual therapy; yrs, years
  2. aReceived SMT in the past
  3. b3 or greater average in the past four weeks on a 0 (no pain) out of 10 (worst pain imaginable), NRS
  4. cReceived SMT in the past three months
  5. d Ranges from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable); for the NRS, a score of 3 or less indicates mild pain; a score of 4 to 6, moderate pain; and a score of 7 or greater, severe pain
  6. eROM measurements using the iOS application Measure® (iOS version 16.0.2, iPhone® model X, Apple Inc., California, United States) [25]