SynthesisEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2011
The relationship between physical activity and low back pain outcomes: a systematic review of observational studies.
Synthesis in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 44 papers, 7 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
44 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 122 citations in OpenAlex.
- Motivational interviewing increases physical activity for adults with low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Management of low back pain and lumbosacral radicular syndrome: the Guideline of the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy (KNGF).European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2024Guideline
- Biopsychosocial Factors for Chronicity in Individuals with Non-Specific Low Back Pain: An Umbrella Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- COVID-19 Pandemic Increases the Impact of Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Metanalysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of the association between physical demands of domestic labor and back pain among women.BMC women's health · 2021Pooled it
- Individual recovery expectations and prognosis of outcomes in non-specific low back pain: prognostic factor review.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2019Pooled it
- The association between physical activity and low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Scientific reports · 2019Pooled it
- Influence of Social Support on Patients' Adherence to Activity Advice in Low Back Pain: A Double-Blinded Randomised Controlled Trial.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026Trial
- Vigorous regular leisure-time physical activity is associated with a clinically important improvement in back pain - a secondary analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Low back pain in healthy postmenopausal women and the effect of physical activity: A secondary analysis in a randomized trial.PloS one · 2017Trial
- Walking away from back pain: one step at a time - a community-based randomised controlled trial.BMC public health · 2015Trial
- Interactive sections of an Internet-based intervention increase empowerment of chronic back pain patients: randomized controlled trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2014Trial
- Virtual reality for chronic primary low back pain in adults: systematic review protocol.Systematic reviews · 2026Article
- Leisure-time physical activity and low back pain in Switzerland: results from the 2022 cross-sectional Swiss Health Survey.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Well-Being, Inflammation, and Physical Activity in Acute and Chronic Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 22,864 UK Biobank Participants.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025Article
- Answer to the Letter to the Editor of M. Hamza, et al. concerning "Implications for fall efficacy strategies on center of pressure and center of gravity sway distances in adults with chronic low back pain" by P.S. Sung, et al. (Eur Spine J [2024]: doi: 10.1007/s00586-024-08523-z).European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2025Article
- Longitudinal impact of leisure-time physical activity on pain intensity and daily activity limitation in people with low back pain. Findings from the PAMPA cohort.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2024Article
- Short-term impact of COVID-19 pandemic on low back pain: data from the PAMPA Cohort, Brazil.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Although clinical guidelines advocate exercise and activity in the management of non-specific low back pain (NSLBP), the link between levels of physical activity and outcomes is unclear. This systematic review investigated the relationships between free living activity levels after onset of low back pain (LBP) and measures of pain, and disability in patients with NSLBP. Cohort and cross-sectional studies were located using OVID, CINAHL, Medline, AMED, Embase, Biomed, PubMed-National Library of Medicine, Proquest and Cochrane Databases, and hand searches of reference lists. Studies were included if a statistical relationship was investigated between measures of free living physical activity (PA) in subjects with LBP and LBP outcome measures. Twelve studies (seven cohort and five cross-sectional) were included. One prospective study reported a statistically significant relationship between increased leisure time activity and improved LBP outcomes, and one cross-sectional study found that lower levels of sporting activity were associated with higher levels of pain and disability. All other studies (n = 10) found no relationship between measures of activity levels and either pain or disability. Heterogeneity of study designs, particularly in terms of activity measurement, made comparisons between studies difficult. These data suggest that the activity levels of patients with NSLBP are neither associated with, nor predictive of, disability or pain levels. Validated activity measurement in prospective research is required to better evaluate the relationships between PA and LBP.
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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.