Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30324496›Full record

Trial reportEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2018

Smartphone app in self-management of chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

H S Chhabra, Sunil Sharma, Shalini Verma

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report 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, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04975568 (Effectiveness of Therapeutic Exercise Controlled Through App Adding Face-to-face Supervision Executed by Physical Therapist in the Subacute and Chronic Low Back Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 84 papers, 17 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
84citing papers in PubMed, 17 pooled it
8.3field-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.

NCT04975568 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2021, after this paper: background citation

Effectiveness of Therapeutic Exercise Controlled Through App Adding Face-to-face Supervision Executed by Physical Therapist in the Subacute and Chronic Low Back Pain

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversidad Complutense de MadridRan2021 to 2022Enrolled90ConditionsLow Back PainArmsApp and face-to-face physical therapy, App physical therapy
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

84 citing papers in PubMed, 17 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 181 citations in OpenAlex.

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  4. Models of care for managing non-specific low back pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025
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  7. Mobile technologies for rehabilitation in non-specific spinal disorders: a systematic review of the efficacy and potential for implementation in low- and middle-income countries.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 · 2023
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  14. Exercise therapy for chronic low back pain.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021
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24 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

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 2 institutions in 2 countries.

H S ChhabraIndian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi, 110070, India.
Sunil SharmaIndian Spinal Injuries Centre, New Delhi, 110070, India.
Shalini VermaCentre for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University), New Delhi, 110025, India. shaliniverma3001@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-3996-6035
Indian Spinal Injuries Centre · INGenetic Technologies (Australia) · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMobile health (mHealth) is emerging as the most convenient way to deliver rehabilitation services remotely, and collect outcomes in real time, thus contributing to disease management by transferring care from hospital to home. It facilitates accessibility to healthcare, enhances patients' understanding of their condition, and their willingness to engage in self-management, giving way to high-quality care to the satisfaction of both patients and healthcare professionals. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of using a smartphone app (called Snapcare) on pain and function in patients suffering from chronic low back pain.

methodsNinety-three patients with chronic low back pain were recruited and randomly allocated to either the Conventional group (n = 48) receiving a written prescription from the Physician, containing a list of prescribed medicines and dosages, and stating the recommended level of physical activity (including home exercises) or the App group (n = 45) receiving Snapcare, in addition to the written prescription. Pain and disability were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks of treatment.

resultsBoth the groups showed significant improvement in pain and disability (p < 0.05). The App group showed a significantly greater decline in disability (p < 0.001).

conclusionHealth applications are promising tools for improving outcomes in patients suffering from various chronic conditions. Snapcare facilitated increase in physical activity and brought about clinically meaningful improvements in pain and disability in patients with chronic low back pain. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.

Indexed as

Mobile ApplicationsSelf CareSmartphoneChronic PainHumansLow Back PainTelemedicineeHealth solutionsHealth technologiesmHealth

Identifiers

PMID30324496
OpenAlexW2897116540

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.