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
Cost-effectiveness of general practice care for low back pain: a systematic review.
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 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 73 citations in OpenAlex.
- CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain - United States, 2022.MMWR. Recommendations and reports : Morbidity and mortality weekly report. Recommendations and reports · 2022Guideline
- Trial
- Cost-effectiveness analysis of acupuncture compared with usual care for acute non-specific low back pain: secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial.Acupuncture in medicine : journal of the British Medical Acupuncture Society · 2022Trial
- Trial
- The Fear Reduction Exercised Early (FREE) approach to management of low back pain in general practice: A pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial.PLoS medicine · 2019Trial
- Trial
- Study protocol of cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of a biopsychosocial multidisciplinary intervention in the evolution of non-specific sub-acute low back pain in the working population: cluster randomised trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2011Trial
- A cost-utility analysis of pharmacopuncture versus physiotherapy for chronic low back pain: A multicenter, pragmatic randomized controlled trial.Integrative medicine research · 2025Article
- Musculoskeletal disorders in Norway: trends in health care utilization and patient pathways: a nationwide register study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2024Article
- Muscle contraction exercise for low back pain.Hong Kong physiotherapy journal : official publication of the Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association Limited = Wu li chih liao · 2023Article
- Implementation of an online pain science education for chronic musculoskeletal pain in Brazilian public health system: protocol for a hybrid type III randomised controlled trial with economic evaluation.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
- Influence of Initial Health Care Provider on Subsequent Health Care Utilization for Patients With a New Onset of Low Back Pain: A Scoping Review.Physical therapy · 2022Article
- Back to living well: community-based management of low back pain: a feasibility study.Pilot and feasibility studies · 2021Article
- International comparative study of low back pain care pathways and analysis of key interventions.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 · 2021Article
- Article
- Predicting recovery after lumbar spinal stenosis surgery: A protocol for a historical cohort study using data from the Canadian Spine Outcomes Research Network (CSORN).Canadian journal of pain = Revue canadienne de la douleur · 2020Article
- Self-reported use of family physician, chiropractor and physiotherapy services among adult Canadians with chronic back disorders: an observational study.BMC health services research · 2018Observational
- Prescribing wellness: comprehensive pain management outside specialist services.Australian prescriber · 2018Review
- Rehabilitative Principles in the Management of Thoracolumbar Syndrome: A Case Report.Journal of chiropractic medicine · 2017Article
- Spinal manipulative therapy for low back pain-time for an update.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Care from a general practitioner (GP) is one of the most frequently utilised healthcare services for people with low back pain and only a small proportion of those with low back pain who seek care from a GP are referred to other services. The aim of this systematic review was to evaluate the evidence on cost-effectiveness of GP care in non-specific low back pain. We searched clinical and economic electronic databases, and the reference list of relevant systematic reviews and included studies to June 2010. Economic evaluations conducted alongside randomised controlled trials with at least one GP care arm were eligible for inclusion. Two reviewers independently screened search results and extracted data. Eleven studies were included; the majority of which conducted a cost-effectiveness or cost-utility analysis. Most studies investigated the cost-effectiveness of usual GP care. Adding advice, education and exercise, or exercise and behavioural counselling, to usual GP care was more cost-effective than usual GP care alone. Clinical rehabilitation and/or occupational intervention, and acupuncture were more cost-effective than usual GP care. One study investigated the cost-effectiveness of guideline-based GP care, and found that adding exercise and/or spinal manipulation was more cost-effective than guideline-based GP care alone. In conclusion, GP care alone did not appear to be the most cost-effective treatment option for low back pain. GPs can improve the cost-effectiveness of their treatment by referring their patients for additional services, such as advice and exercise, or by providing the services themselves.
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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.