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
Physical activity and low back pain: a systematic review of recent literature.
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 150 papers, 11 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
150 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Prolotherapy as a Regenerative Treatment in the Management of Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2025Pooled it
- Prevalence and risks factors of caregiving-related low back pain among caregivers of stroke survivors: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders among workers in the automobile manufacturing industry in China: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC public health · 2023Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of the association between physical demands of domestic labor and back pain among women.BMC women's health · 2021Pooled it
- Physical activity and low back pain in children and adolescents: a systematic review.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 · 2021Pooled it
- Prevalence of Self-Reported Work-Related Lower Back Pain and Its Associated Factors in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of environmental and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Physical activity participation and the risk of chronic diseases among South Asian adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2019Pooled it
- The association between physical activity and low back pain: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies.Scientific reports · 2019Pooled it
- Prevalence of Back Pain in Sports: A Systematic Review of the Literature.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2017Pooled it
- Restriction in lateral bending range of motion, lumbar lordosis, and hamstring flexibility predicts the development of low back pain: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2017Pooled it
- Leisure-time physical activity and sciatica: A systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2016Pooled it
- 4-Week Comparative Outcomes of Standard Physiotherapy, Balneotherapy Plus Physiotherapy and Dextrose Prolotherapy in Patients with Low Back Pain: A Non-Randomized Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Trial
- Modifying lumbar flexion pain thresholds in patients with chronic low back pain through visual-proprioceptive manipulation with virtual reality: a cross-sectional study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2025Trial
- Impact of the digital health application ViViRA on spinal mobility, physical function, quality of life and pain perception in spondyloarthritides patients: a randomized controlled trial.Arthritis research & therapy · 2024Trial
- Mechanisms for reducing low back pain: a mediation analysis of a multifaceted intervention in workers in elderly care.International archives of occupational and environmental health · 2019Trial
- Physical activity is related to function and fatigue but not pain in women with fibromyalgia: baseline analyses from the Fibromyalgia Activity Study with TENS (FAST).Arthritis research & therapy · 2018Trial
- Effects of a wearable type lumbosacral support for low back pain among hospital workers: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of occupational health · 2017Trial
- Barriers to Physical Activity in Low Back Pain Patients following Rehabilitation: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.BioMed research international · 2017Trial
- Low back pain in healthy postmenopausal women and the effect of physical activity: A secondary analysis in a randomized trial.PloS one · 2017Trial
- Leisure-time physical activity and low back pain in Switzerland: results from the 2022 cross-sectional Swiss Health Survey.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
90 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The objective of the study is to systematically evaluate the available evidence on the association between physical activity (i.e. occupational load and non-occupational physical activities) and low back pain (LBP). A systematic approach was used to explore the literature between 1999 and 2009. Studies were selected for inclusion following a comprehensive search of Medline, Embase and CINAHL. The methodological quality of each study was assessed. Studies were considered to be of 'high quality' if they met the cut-off criterion of 60% of the maximum available quality score. Thirty-six cohort or case-control studies were retrieved. Heavy workload and the accumulation of loads or frequency of lifts were moderate to strong risk factors for LBP. Strong associations were found for flexed, rotated and the awkward positions of the lumbar spine. Inconsistent results were found for leisure time physical activities, sports and physical exercise. Studies focusing on daily habitual physical activities (e.g. domestic activities and commuting) in association with LBP are lacking. In conclusion, the occurrence of LBP is related to the nature and intensity of the physical activities undertaken. However, physical activities can be subdivided into separate types and intensities and the ultimate physical load is the sum of all these activities. This makes it difficult to designate one particular activity as the cause of 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.