ArticlePhysical therapy research2019
Developing a clinical prediction rule to identify patients with lumbar disc herniation who demonstrate short-term improvement with mechanical lumbar traction.
Article in Physical therapy research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 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
3 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 2 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Effect of different positions of lumbar traction on pain, function, and range of motion in adults with non-specific low back pain: a randomized clinical trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Lumbar disc disease: the effect of inversion on clinical symptoms and a comparison of the rate of surgery after inversion therapy with the rate of surgery in neurosurgery controls.Journal of physical therapy science · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo develop a clinical prediction rule (CPR) that predicts treatment responses to mechanical lumbar traction (MLT) among patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).
methodThis study was an uncontrolled prospective cohort study. The subjects included 103 patients diagnosed with LDH for which they underwent conservative therapy. The subjects received MLT for 2 weeks, and the application of any other medication was left at the discretion of the attending physician. The initial evaluation was performed prior to the initiation of treatment. The independent variables from the initial evaluation were imaging diagnosis, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire score, visual analog scale, medical interview, physical examination. The patients whose ODI after 2 weeks of treatment improved by ≥50% of that at the initial evaluation were defined as responders.
resultsOf the 103 subjects, 24 were responders, and the five predictors selected for the CPR were limited lumbar extension range of motion, low-level fear-avoidance beliefs regarding work, no segmental hypomobility in the lumbar spine, short duration of symptoms, and sudden onset of symptoms. For the patients with at least three of the five predictors, the probability of their ODI greatly improving increased from 23.3% to 48.7% compared with the patients without these predictors (positive likelihood ratio, 3.13).
conclusionFive factors were selected for the CPR to predict whether patients with LDH would demonstrate short-term improvement following conservative therapy with MLT.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.