SynthesisPloS one2025
The effect of cognitive behavioural therapy on pain and disability in chronic non-specific low back pain: An overview of systematic reviews.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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
6 citing papers in PubMed.
- Central Sensitization and Pain Catastrophizing Are More Strongly Associated with Health-Related Quality of Life than Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis-Derived Body-Composition Measures in Patients with Chronic Low Back Pain.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Randomized controlled trial of medical assistant-coached behavioral intervention for chronic pain.Regional anesthesia and pain medicine · 2026Article
- Article
- Effect of virtual reality-integrated mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on pain and psychological symptoms in chronic non-specific low back pain: protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Economic burden of recurrent low back pain among working-age adults in Poland: a 3-year retrospective observational analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Observational
- Rethinking chronic pain: a dissociative framework for psychodynamic practice.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Review
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.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundLow back pain (LBP) is experienced by most people at least once in their lifetime and is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a non-invasive method used to manage chronic non-specific low back pain (CNSLBP) and contains less adverse effects than analgesic medications.
aimsTo determine the efficacy of interventions incorporating CBT on reducing pain intensity and physical disability in CNSLBP.
methodsAn overview of reviews without meta-analysis was conducted. Four electronic databases (MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Library and PsycINFO) were searched. Adults aged 18 or above with CNSLBP were included. AMSTAR 2 was used to assess risk of bias of included systematic reviews and data synthesis was conducted via vote counting methods.
resultsTen systematic reviews were included. Results showed that CBT is more effective in reducing pain and disability compared to waiting list/usual care (WL/UC). CBT in conjunction with other active treatments (AT) are also more effective than some standalone AT such as physiotherapy and exercise, but less effective than surgery.
conclusionCBT has some effect in reducing pain and disability, however, it may not be more effective than other treatments. The quality of evidence was low for most outcomes as there was high risk of bias and heterogeneity between studies. Future research could evaluate specific therapies such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), as these treatments lacked primary studies. There is no recognised standard for conducting CBT, and further research could determine the most effective duration, mode of delivery (e.g., online, group-based) and intensity of CBT.
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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.