Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35996124›Full record

SynthesisBMC musculoskeletal disorders2022

Summarizing the effects of different exercise types in chronic low back pain - a systematic review of systematic reviews.

Wilhelmus Johannes Andreas Grooten, Carina Boström, Åsa Dedering, Marie Halvorsen, Roman P Kuster, Lena Nilsson-Wikmar, Christina B Olsson, Graciela Rovner, Elena Tseli, Eva Rasmussen-Barr

Open access · goldAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 37 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
37citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
12.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% 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

37 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 77 citations in OpenAlex.

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  8. 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 · 2025
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  12. 'It Felt Safe'. Experiences With an Early Cognitive Behavioural Approach After Lumbar Spinal Surgery: A Qualitative Study of Participants' Perspectives.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026
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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

10 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Wilhelmus Johannes Andreas GrootenDepartment of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1697-9781
Carina BoströmDepartment of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2506-687X
Åsa DederingDepartment of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7852-1656
Marie HalvorsenDepartment of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6967-2014
Roman P KusterDepartment of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4189-2071
Lena Nilsson-WikmarDepartment of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9779-7241
Christina B OlssonDepartment of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1300-7765
Graciela RovnerDepartment of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6738-1624
Elena TseliDepartment of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8307-259X
Eva Rasmussen-BarrDepartment of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Physiotherapy, Karolinska Institutet, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden. eva.rasmussen.barr@ki.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3015-1232
Karolinska Institutet · SEKarolinska University Hospital · SEDalarna University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn chronic LBP (CLBP), guideline-endorsed treatment is to stay active, return to normal activity, and to exercise. Several reviews on various exercise types used in CLBP have been published. We aimed to identify systematic reviews of common exercise types used in CLBP, to appraise their quality, and to summarize and compare their effect on pain and disability.

methodsWe searched the databases OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, COCHRANE LIBRARY, and WEB OF SCIENCE (Core collection) for systematic reviews and meta-analyses on adults between 18 and 70 years of age suffering from chronic or recurrent LBP for a period of at least 12 weeks, which investigated the effects of exercises on pain and disability. All searches were conducted without language restriction. The search was performed up until 2022-01-26. The included reviews were grouped into nine exercise types: aerobic training, aquatic exercises, motor control exercises (MCE), resistance training, Pilates, sling exercises, traditional Chinese exercises (TCE), walking, and yoga. The study quality was assessed with AMSTAR-2. For each exercise type, a narrative analysis was performed, and the level of evidence for the effects of exercise was assessed through GRADE.

resultsOur database search resulted in 3,475 systematic reviews. Out of the 253 full texts that were screened, we included 45 systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The quality of the included reviews ranged from high to critically low. Due to large heterogeneity, no meta-analyses were performed. We found low-to-moderate evidence of mainly short-term and small beneficial effects on pain and disability for MCE, Pilates, resistance training, TCE, and yoga compared to no or minimal intervention.

conclusionsOur findings show that the effect of various exercise types used in CLBP on pain and disability varies with no major difference between exercise types. Many of the included systematic reviews were of low-to-moderate quality and based on randomized controlled trials with high risk of bias. The conflicting results seen, undermine the certainty of the results leading to very-low-to-moderate quality of evidence for our results. Future systematic reviews should be of higher quality to minimize waste of resources.

trial registrationPROSPERO: Reg no 190409 Registration date 01AUG 2020.

Indexed as

Chronic PainLow Back PainYogaAdultExerciseExercise TherapyHumansInfantSystematic Reviews as TopicPhysical activityPhysiotherapyRehabilitationSpinal painTraining

Identifiers

PMID35996124
PMCPMC9394044
OpenAlexW4292560152

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.