SynthesisEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2023
Effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapy on pain intensity and disability in older people with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Synthesis 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, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07287501 (Efficacy of Pain Science Education Combined With Exercise in Older Adults With Chronic Pain), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers.
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.
Efficacy of Pain Science Education Combined With Exercise in Older Adults With Chronic Pain
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Outcomes of a Remotely Delivered Complementary and Integrative Health Partnered Intervention to Improve Chronic Pain and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Trial
- Relevance of improved reporting for non-pharmacological interventions in clinical trials: Bridging research to clinical practice.Brazilian journal of physical therapy · 2026Review
- Efficacy of Pain Neuroscience Education Combined with Exercise in Older Adults with Chronic Pain: Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Baseline predictors of responders to auricular point acupressure in chronic low back pain.Clinical traditional medicine and pharmacology · 2025Article
- Efficacy and safety of pregabalin in the management of low back pain: a comprehensive meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Review
- Impact of probiotic-enriched enteral nutrition combined with an ERAS protocol on postoperative recovery and metabolic rehabilitation in laryngeal cancer patients: a single-center retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Article
- Prognostic Factors in Patients Undergoing Physiotherapy for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Level I Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2024Review
- The Difficulties of Managing Pain in People Living with Frailty: The Potential for Digital Phenotyping.Drugs & aging · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
background and purposeThe aim of the present systematic review was to investigate the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapy on pain intensity and disability in older people with chronic nonspecific low back pain.
methodsSearches were conducted in the MEDLINE, COCHRANE LIBRARY, EMBASE, AMED, PSYCINFO, and PEDRO databases up to 2022. Risk of bias was appraised using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2.0 tool. Estimated mean differences and respective 95% confidence intervals were presented for each paired comparison and the strength of the current evidence was assessed using the GRADE approach. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Thirty-one original trials involving 2120 participants were included. All outcomes were self-rated. Pain intensity was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale or Numerical Rating Scale. Disability was evaluated using the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, Oswestry Disability Index or Hannover Functional Ability Questionnaire. Short-term: Moderate quality of evidence that mindfulness reduces disability compared to patient education (mean difference [MD] = - 1.38 [95% CI - 2.02 to - 0.73]); low-quality evidence that mixed exercise (MD = - 50.33 [95% CI - 57.11 to - 43.56]) reduces pain compared to no intervention, waiting list, placebo or sham; low quality of evidence that there is no effect for opioid compared to placebo (MD = - 8.26 [95% CI - 19.29 to 2.77]) with regards to reducing pain and opioid/acetaminophen reduces disability more compared to pregabalin (MD = 2.36 [95% CI] 1.86-2.86]).
conclusionsThe findings showed low or very low quality of evidence for non-pharmacological interventions with a large effect in short- and long-term follow-up. The two studies that provided moderate quality of evidence had a small clinical effect. Only two studies were found that investigated pharmacological therapies-both with low quality of evidence. However, the studies were methodologically weak and had small sample sizes. Given the adverse effects of low back pain and the scarce information on the effectiveness of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments for older people, future randomized trials should be encouraged.
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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.