Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42663634›Full record

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

Associations between different sports and low back pain: a population-based study with a 15-year follow-up.

Tuuli Metsäntaus, Juhani Määttä, Jaro Karppinen, Urho M Kujala, Paulo Ferreira, Petteri Oura, Eveliina Heikkala

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Article 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
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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

7 authors.

Tuuli MetsäntausResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland. metsantaustuuli@gmail.com.
Juhani MäättäResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2400-9195
Jaro KarppinenResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2158-6042
Urho M KujalaFaculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyvaskyla, Finland.
Paulo FerreiraSydney Musculoskeletal Health, Charles Perkins Centre, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Petteri OuraResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
Eveliina HeikkalaResearch Unit of Health Sciences and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7156-491X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeEngagement in moderate levels of physical activity appears to be beneficial for low back pain (LBP) prevention and treatment. In this 15-year prospective follow-up study, we aimed to examine whether certain sports and their performance levels are associated with lower odds of experiencing repeatedly observed LBP across a 15-year follow-up.

methodsStudy sample composed of participants of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (n = 3352) who had data available on the engagement frequency in the following sports and other physical activities: (a) cross-country skiing; (b) swimming; (c) running; (d) aerobics and gymnastics; (e) gym workouts; (f) floorball, ice hockey, football, rinkball, and basketball; and (h) badminton, volleyball, tennis, and squash at 31 years, and LBP occurrence between 31 and 46 years. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to produce unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).

resultsCross-country skiing more than once a month or at least twice a week, running at least twice a week and gym training up to once a month were associated with lower odds of experiencing repeatedly observed LBP than exercising up to once a month. After adjustments, only the cross-country skiing models remained (for up to once a week: OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.60-0.98; for at least twice a week: 0.71, 0.51-1.00). No association was found between sports and incident or resolved LBP.

conclusionEngagement in cross-country skiing in early adulthood appears to be a protective factor against repeatedly observed LBP between early and mid-adulthood.

Indexed as

Birth cohortLongitudinalLow back painPhysical activityPopulation-basedSports

Identifiers

PMID42663634

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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.