101 The short-term effectiveness of e-Exercise low back pain – a cluster RCT content considerations were made by the physiotherapists themselves with respect to their clinical expertise. Measurements Patients received a web-based questionnaire and an accelerometer at baseline and after 3 months of follow-up. Baseline measurements were conducted face to face and follow-up measurements through web-based communication (e.g., FaceTime) or face to face when requested. No financial incentives were offered to complete the measurements. In the case of an unfilled questionnaire, patients were reminded after 7 and 14 days. Outcome Measures Primary Outcome Physical functioning because of pain was assessed using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI; version 2.1a) (27,28). The ODI was derived from the internationally accepted core outcome set for research into patients with nonspecific LBP (28). A higher score (0-100) indicates increased functional disability. Secondary Outcomes Pain intensity was measured using an 11-point numeric rating scale for the average LBP intensity in the last week (0=no pain and 10=worst possible pain) (28,29). Physical activity was objectively measured using Activ8 (2M Engineering) (30). Patients were instructed to wear the Activ8 for 5 consecutive weeks starting at baseline and 8 consecutive days at the 3-month follow-up, except during sleeping, showering, bathing, or swimming. For the purpose of this study, only the first 7 days at both the baseline and 3-month follow-up were used. Accelerometer data were eligible if patients had worn the meter for at least 3 days for ≥10 hours a day (31). For each patient, the mean time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity (all activities >3.0 metabolic equivalents (32)) in minutes per day was computed by summation and divided by the number of eligible wearing days. Fear-avoidance beliefs about physical activity and work were measured using the FearAvoidance Beliefs Questionnaire (33). A higher score (range 0-96) indicates stronger fear and avoidance beliefs about how physical activity and work negatively affect LBP. Pain catastrophizing was measured using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (34). A higher score (range 0-55) indicates a higher level of catastrophizing. Self-efficacy was measured using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (35,36). A higher score (range 10-40) indicates greater or stronger perceived self-efficacy. 5
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