ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2020
Sex and gender considerations in low back pain clinical practice guidelines: a scoping review.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Inclusion of sex and gender in clinical practice guidelines: an umbrella review.BMJ open quality · 2026Pooled it
- A Guide for the Inclusion of Sex and Gender Considerations in Clinical Practice Guidelines.Clinical and public health guidelines · 2026Article
- Perspectives on sex and gender inclusion in clinical practice guidelines: a qualitative study.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Association Between Body Composition, Muscle-to-Weight Ratio, and Functional Disability in Patients with Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Cross-Sectional Study.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Observational
- Article
- Gene Expression Correlates with Disability and Pain Intensity in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain and Modic Changes in a Sex-Specific Manner.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Physiotherapy Reduces Pain and Alters Fatty Acid Biomarkers in Women with Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain.International journal of women's health · 2025Article
- Sex and Gender in Orthopaedic Research: How Do We Continue to Move the Needle?The Journal of bone and joint surgery. American volume · 2024Article
- Postural and Lumbopelvic Control: Crucial Factors in the Functionality of Patients with Low Back Pain-A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Article
- A Secondary Analysis of Gender Respiratory Features for Ultrasonography Bilateral Diaphragm Thickness, Respiratory Pressures, and Pulmonary Function in Low Back Pain.Tomography (Ann Arbor, Mich.) · 2024Article
- Consideration of sex and gender in European clinical practice guidelines in internal medicine: a systematic review protocol.BMJ open · 2023Article
- More than one third of clinical practice guidelines on low back pain overlap in AGREE II appraisals. Research wasted?BMC medical research methodology · 2022Article
- Allied health professionals: A promising ally in the work against health inequalities- A rapid review.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2022Review
- Predictors of response following standardized education and self-management recommendations for low back pain stratified by dominant pain location.North American Spine Society journal · 2021Article
- Editorial: Differences in Pain Biology, Perception, and Coping Strategies: Towards Sex and Gender Specific Treatments.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Article
- Sex and gender considerations in low back pain clinical practice guidelines: a scoping review.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveThe purpose of this scoping review is to determine if and how sex and gender have been incorporated into low back pain (LBP) clinical practice guidelines (CPG), and if sex and gender terms have been used properly.
methodsCPGs were searched on MEDLINE, Embase, NICE, TRIP and PEDro from 2010 to 2020. The inclusion criteria were English language, CGPs within physiotherapy scope of practice and for adult population with LBP of any type or duration. Three pairs of independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts and full texts. Guidelines were searched for sex/gender-related terms and recommendations were extracted. The AGREE II (Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II) was used to evaluate the quality of the CPGs.
resultsThirty-six CPGs were included, of which 15 were test-positive for sex or gender terms. Only 33% (n=5) of CPGs incorporated sex or gender into diagnostic or management recommendations. Sixty percent of guidelines (n=9) only referenced sex or gender in relation to epidemiology, risk factors or prognostic data, and made no specific recommendations. Overall, there was no observable relationship between guideline quality and likeliness of integrating sex or gender terms. The majority of guidelines used sex and gender terms interchangeably, and no guidelines defined sex or gender.
conclusionCPGs did not consistently consider sex and gender differences in assessment, diagnosis or treatment of LBP. When it was considered, sex and gender terms were used interchangeably, and considerations were primarily regarding pregnancy. Researchers should consider the importance of including sex-based and/or gender-based recommendations into future LBP CPGs.
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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.