SynthesisBritish journal of sports medicine2022
Effectiveness of treatments for acute and subacute mechanical non-specific low back pain: a systematic review with network meta-analysis.
Synthesis in British journal of sports medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 3 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 69 papers, 9 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.
Comparative Effects of McGill Stabilization Exercises and Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation Technique on Pain, Range of Motion and Functional Disability in Chronic Non-specific Low Back Pain
Comparative Effects of Brunkow Program and Lumbar Stabilization Exercises on Pain, Range of Motion and Disability in Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain
Effects of Feldenkrais and Otago Exercise Protocols for Mechanical Low Back Pain
Who cites it
69 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 130 citations in OpenAlex.
- Prevalence, risk factors, and conservative management of low back pain in competitive gymnasts: a systematic review.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and Harms of Opioid Analgesics for Acute Pain: Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses.Drugs · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of various interventions for the management of white spot lesions associated with fixed orthodontic treatment: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.BMC oral health · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative effectiveness of non-pharmacological traditional Chinese medicine therapies for chronic fatigue syndrome: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of education in patients undergoing physiotherapy for lower back pain: a level I systematic review and meta-analysis.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025Pooled it
- Research hotspots and frontiers in non-specific low back pain: a bibliometric analysis.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- 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 · 2023Pooled it
- Comparative effectiveness and safety of analgesic medicines for adults with acute non-specific low back pain: systematic review and network meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2023Pooled it
- Exercise intervention for patients with chronic low back pain: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Clinical efficacy of peloidotherapy on pain, sleep quality, and central sensitization-related symptoms in chronic low back pain: a comparative analysis.International journal of biometeorology · 2026Trial
- Effect of osteopathic techniques on human resting muscle tone in healthy subjects using myotonometry: a factorial randomized trial.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Short-Term Efficacy of High-Intensity Laser Therapy in Alleviating Pain in Patients with Knee Osteoarthritis: A Single-Blind Randomised Controlled Trial.Pain research & management · 2022Trial
- Itgb1-Mediated Stabilization of Vimentin Alleviates Excessive Mechanical Stress-Induced Nucleus Pulposus Cell Pyroptosis and Intervertebral Disc Degeneration via PINK1-Parkin-Dependent Mitophagy.Cell proliferation · 2026Article
- Reliability and Construct Validity of the Six-Minute Step Test in Individuals With Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026Article
- One in six admitted patients with low back pain received high daily opioid dosage in Australian hospitals: a cross-sectional study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2026Article
- Total Antioxidant Capacity and Total Oxidative Capacity in Multi-Modal Opioid-Based Therapy for Non-Cancer Pain: Analysis of Redox Status.Current issues in molecular biology · 2026Article
- Article
- Assessing the impact of manual therapy in the management of nonspecific low back pain: a scoping review of the outcomes used in clinical trials.BMC complementary medicine and therapies · 2026Article
- Comparison of the Efficacy of Different Traditional Chinese Exercises in the Treatment of Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Bayesian Network Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- Exercise synchronized with audible cues preserves motor unit action potential: a randomized control trial study.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2025Article
9 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
8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the effectiveness of interventions for acute and subacute non-specific low back pain (NS-LBP) based on pain and disability outcomes.
designA systematic review of the literature with network meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Embase and CENTRAL databases were searched from inception until 17 October 2020. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR SELECTING STUDIES: Randomised clinical trials (RCTs) involving adults with NS-LBP who experienced pain for less than 6 weeks (acute) or between 6 and 12 weeks (subacute).
resultsForty-six RCTs (n=8765) were included; risk of bias was low in 9 trials (19.6%), unclear in 20 (43.5%), and high in 17 (36.9%). At immediate-term follow-up, for pain decrease, the most efficacious treatments against an inert therapy were: exercise (standardised mean difference (SMD) -1.40; 95% confidence interval (CI) -2.41 to -0.40), heat wrap (SMD -1.38; 95% CI -2.60 to -0.17), opioids (SMD -0.86; 95% CI -1.62 to -0.10), manual therapy (SMD -0.72; 95% CI -1.40 to -0.04) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (SMD -0.53; 95% CI -0.97 to -0.09). Similar findings were confirmed for disability reduction in non-pharmacological and pharmacological networks, including muscle relaxants (SMD -0.24; 95% CI -0.43 to -0.04). Mild or moderate adverse events were reported in the opioids (65.7%), NSAIDs (54.3%) and steroids (46.9%) trial arms.
conclusionWith uncertainty of evidence, NS-LBP should be managed with non-pharmacological treatments which seem to mitigate pain and disability at immediate-term. Among pharmacological interventions, NSAIDs and muscle relaxants appear to offer the best harm-benefit balance.
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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.