Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27307013›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of behavioral medicine2017

Efficacy of Biofeedback in Chronic back Pain: a Meta-Analysis.

Robert Sielski, Winfried Rief, Julia Anna Glombiewski

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of behavioral medicine, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
8.6field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 132 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  12. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Biofeedback.Current pain and headache reports · 2025
    Review
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  20. Virtual Reality Biofeedback in Health: A Scoping Review.Applied psychophysiology and biofeedback · 2022
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Robert SielskiDepartment of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany. robert.sielski@staff.uni-marburg.de.
Winfried RiefDepartment of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany.
Julia Anna GlombiewskiDepartment of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University of Marburg, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032, Marburg, Germany.
Philipps University of Marburg · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe aims of the present analysis were to investigate the short- and long-term efficacy and treatment moderators of biofeedback as a psychological treatment option for chronic back pain.

methodA literature search using PubMed, PsycINFO, and the Cochrane Library identified 21 eligible studies including 23 treatment conditions and 1062 patients.

resultsMeta-analytic integration resulted in a significant small-to-medium effect size for pain intensity reduction (Hedges' g = 0.60; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.44, 0.76) that proved to be stable with a significant small-to-large effect size (Hedges' g = 0.62; 95 % CI 0.40, 0.84) over an average follow-up phase of 8 months. Biofeedback also proved to be effective in reducing depression (Hedges' g = 0.40; 95 % CI 0.27, 0.52), disability (Hedges' g = 0.49; 95 % CI 0.34, 0.74), reduction of muscle tension (EMG; Hedges' g = 0.44; 95 % CI 0.22, 0.65), and improving cognitive coping (Hedges' g = 0.41; 95 % CI 0.26, 0.57). These effects remained comparatively stable at follow-up and for controlled studies only. Moderator analyses revealed longer biofeedback treatments to be more effective for reducing disability and a greater proportion of biofeedback in the treatment to be more effective for reducing depression. Publication bias analyses demonstrated the consistency of these effects.

conclusionIt is concluded that biofeedback treatment can lead to improvements on various pain-related outcomes in the short and long terms, both as a standalone and as an adjunctive intervention.

Indexed as

Back PainBiofeedback, PsychologyChronic PainDepressionHumansBiofeedbackChronic back painMeta-analysisPsychological treatment

Identifiers

PMID27307013
OpenAlexW2430553295

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.