SynthesisThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews2000
Exercise therapy for low back pain.
Synthesis in The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2000. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04555668 (Effect of Global Postural Reeducation Program With Hamstring Stretch for Patients With Low Back Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 28 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Effect of Global Postural Reeducation Program With Hamstring Stretch for Patients With Low Back Pain
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 240 citations in OpenAlex.
- Exercise therapy for treatment of acute non-specific low back pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of exercise therapy in patients with acute low back pain: a systematic review of systematic reviews.Systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Exercise therapy for treatment of non-specific low back pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2005Pooled it
- A randomized placebo-controlled clinical trial of phonophoresis for the treatment of chronic neck pain.Rheumatology international · 2014Trial
- Manual therapy followed by specific active exercises versus a placebo followed by specific active exercises on the improvement of functional disability in patients with chronic non specific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2012Trial
- Randomised controlled trial of Alexander technique lessons, exercise, and massage (ATEAM) for chronic and recurrent back pain.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2008Trial
- Effect on the process of care of an active strategy to implement clinical guidelines on physiotherapy for low back pain: a cluster randomised controlled trial.Quality & safety in health care · 2005Trial
- UK Back pain Exercise And Manipulation (UK BEAM) trial--national randomised trial of physical treatments for back pain in primary care: objectives, design and interventions [ISRCTN32683578].BMC health services research · 2003Trial
- Prevalence and predictors of back pain among primary healthcare workers in Qatar in 2023.Qatar medical journal · 2025Article
- Erector Spinae Muscle Activation During Forward Movement in Individuals With or Without Chronic Lower Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translation · 2023Review
- Efficacy of a Lower Back Intensive Rehabilitation Program in Occupational Injury Patients and Characteristics of Care: A Retrospective Cohort Study.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2022Article
- Article
- Article
- The Effect of Suspension and Conventional Core Stability Exercises on Characteristics of Intervertebral Disc and Chronic Pain in Office Staff Due to Lumbar Herniated Disc.The archives of bone and joint surgery · 2020Article
- Variability in Strength, Pain, and Disability Changes in Response to an Isolated Lumbar Extension Resistance Training Intervention in Participants with Chronic Low Back Pain.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2017Article
- Operative Management of Lumbar Degenerative Disc Disease.Asian spine journal · 2016Review
- ASIC3 Is Required for Development of Fatigue-Induced Hyperalgesia.Molecular neurobiology · 2016Article
- Deconstructing Chronic Low Back Pain in the Older Adult: Step by Step Evidence and Expert-Based Recommendations for Evaluation and Treatment: Part IV: Depression.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2015Review
- An exploration of chronic pain patients' perceptions of home telerehabilitation services.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2012Article
Corrections and comments
- Updated by
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundExercise therapy is a widely used treatment for low back pain.
objectivesThe objective of this review was to assess the effectiveness of exercise therapy for low back pain with regard to pain intensity, functional status, overall improvement and return to work. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (1999, issue 1), MEDLINE (1966 - April 1999), EMBASE (1988 - September 1998), PsycLIT (from 1984 to April 1999) and reference lists of articles. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised trials of all types of exercise therapy for subjects with non-specific low back pain with or without radiation into the legs. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed trial quality. Because trials were considered heterogeneous with regard to study populations, interventions and outcomes, we decided not to perform a meta-analysis but to summarise the results using a rating system of four levels of evidence (strong, moderate, limited or no evidence). MAIN
results39 RCTs were identified. There is strong evidence that exercise therapy is not more effective than inactive or other active treatments it has been compared with for acute low back pain. There is conflicting evidence on the effectiveness of exercise therapy compared with inactive treatments for chronic low back pain. Exercise therapy was more effective than usual care by the general practitioner and equally effective as conventional physiotherapy for chronic low back pain. REVIEWER'S
conclusionsThe evidence summarised in this systematic review does not indicate that specific exercises are effective for the treatment of acute low back pain. Exercises may be helpful for chronic low back pain patients to increase return to normal daily activities and work.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.