Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41402030›Full record

Trial reportBritish journal of sports medicine2026

Immediate physical therapy is beneficial for adolescent athletes with active lumbar spondylolysis: a multicentre randomised trial.

Mitchell Selhorst, Emily Sweeney, Lisa C Martin, Jingzhen Yang, Jason Benedict, Madison Brna, Spondylolysis Physician Group, Anastasia N Fischer

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled TrialMulticenter Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in British journal of sports medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05505981 (Back in the Game), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT05505981 nacompletednot on this map

Back in the Game: An Immediate Functional Progression Program for Adolescent Athletes With Spondylolysis: A Multi-Center Randomized Pilot Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorNationwide Children's HospitalRan2022 to 2025Enrolled64ConditionsLumbar SpondylosisArmsImmediate PT, Rest until pain resolves
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

8 authors.

Mitchell SelhorstSports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA mitchell.selhorst@nationwidechildrens.org.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7409-1844
Emily SweeneySports Medicine Center, Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, Colorado, USA.
Lisa C MartinDepartment of Radiology, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Jingzhen YangCenter for Injury Research and Policy, Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4019-0999
Jason BenedictCenter for Biostatistics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Madison BrnaSchool of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Spondylolysis Physician Group
Anastasia N FischerSports Medicine and Pediatrics, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6911-8766

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo compare the effects of initiating physical therapy (PT) immediately versus resting before starting PT on pain and dysfunction over 12 months in adolescent athletes (10-19 years) with active lumbar spondylolysis.

methodsThis prospective multicentre trial randomised participants to immediate PT or rest before PT. The immediate PT group began PT within 7 days and progressed based on pain and function. The rest before PT group started PT once symptoms resolved and progressed based on time. The primary outcome was pain and disability (Micheli Functional Scale) between groups over time, measured at baseline, 1 (primary end point), 3 and 12 months. Time to return to sport and the recurrence rate of low back pain (LBP) were also assessed. Outcomes were analysed using an intention-to-treat approach.

resultsSixty-four participants (median age 14.2 years; 40% female) were randomised to immediate PT (n=30) and rest before PT (n=34). At 1 month, the immediate PT group showed significant improvements in pain and disability (mean difference on Micheli Functional Scale of 21.3, 95% CI 28.7 to 13.9; p<0.001). They also returned to sport 38 days sooner (p<0.001), with fewer recurrences of LBP over 12 months (3% vs 29%; p=0.01). There were no adverse events.

conclusionsClinicians may consider prescribing PT immediately after diagnosing active lumbar spondylolysis instead of rest. Immediate PT showed greater initial improvements in pain and dysfunction, a quicker return to sport and a lower recurrence of LBP compared with rest before PT among adolescent athletes with spondylolysis. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT05505981.

Indexed as

Low Back PainLumbar VertebraePhysical Therapy ModalitiesSpondylolysisAdolescentChildFemaleHumansMalePain MeasurementProspective StudiesRecurrenceRestReturn to SportYoung Adultadolescentathletesspine

Identifiers

PMID41402030
PMCPMC12911598

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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.