Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41784643›Full record

Trial reportEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2026

Running is associated with intervertebral disc adaptations: a pre-planned secondary analysis of the ASTEROID randomised controlled trial.

Claire L Samanna, Christopher Neason, Scott D Tagliaferri, Daniel L Belavý, Ulrike H Mitchell, Hanna Rae Nez, Paul Buntine, Clint T Miller, David Scott, Niamh L Mundell and 2 more

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report 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, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

12 authors.

Claire L SamannaEastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Box Hill, Melbourne, Australia. claire.samanna@monash.edu.
Christopher NeasonEastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Box Hill, Melbourne, Australia.
Scott D TagliaferriCentre for Youth Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Daniel L BelavýDepartment of Exercise Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, United States.
Ulrike H MitchellDepartment of Exercise Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, United States.
Hanna Rae NezIntegrated Pain Specialists, Utah, United States.
Paul BuntineEastern Health Emergency Medicine Program, Eastern Health, Box Hill, Australia.
Clint T MillerInstitute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia.
David ScottSchool of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
Niamh L MundellInstitute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Burwood, Australia.
Matthew J ClarksonInstitute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia.
Patrick J OwenEastern Health Clinical School, Monash University, Box Hill, Melbourne, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo identify patient and intervention factors that moderate the effects of running on intervertebral disc health (IVD) in adults with non‑specific chronic low back pain.

methodsPre‑planned secondary analysis of a 12-week parallel-group (1:1) randomised controlled trial of 40 adults with non-specific CLBP (mean [SD] age: 33 [6] years, female: 50%). Participants were allocated to a digitally-delivered progressive run-walk interval exercise training program (3 days/week, 30 min/session) or waitlist control. Magnetic resonance imaging at baseline, six, and 12 weeks quantified primary outcome IVD composition as whole-disc T2 (ms) from T11/T12 to L5/S1. Moderators included baseline degeneration (Pfirrmann grade; aggregated Pfirrmann score), sex, body mass index, and intervention factors (cumulative running volume, mean speed, and dominant surface). Linear mixed models were fitted at the IVD level to estimate group-by-time effects within each moderator-defined subgroup (α = 0.05).

resultsThe highest aggregated Pfirrmann scores reflecting greater multi-level degeneration (estimated marginal mean net difference [95%CI]: 3.42 [0.22, 6.62] ms, P = 0.036), cumulative running volumes between 28.6 and 46.1 kms (4.80 [2.51, 7.10] ms, P < 0.001), mean running speeds between 10.5 and 11.7 km/h (2.46 [0.14, 4.79] ms, P = 0.038), and running on grass (2.93 [0.10, 5.76] ms, P = 0.043) positively moderated between-group IVD T2 changes.

conclusionIn this pre-planned secondary analysis of a randomised control trial of a run-walk program, our data suggest running speed, volume and surface, as well as more multi-level IVD degeneration, may be associated with more favourable 12-week IVD T2 changes. Findings are hypothesis-generating and may inform future trials designed to optimise IVD health.

Indexed as

Adaptation, PhysiologicalExercise TherapyIntervertebral DiscIntervertebral Disc DegenerationLow Back PainRunningAdultFemaleHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaledisc degenerationjoggingMagnetic resonance imagingModeratorSpine

Identifiers

PMID41784643

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.