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
How effective are physiotherapy interventions in treating people with sciatica? A systematic review and 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. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Are combined conservative interventions effective in reducing pain, disability and/or global rating of pain in people with sciatica with known neuropathic pain mechanisms?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 · 2024Pooled it
- Radial shockwave therapy versus short-wave diathermy for pain, neuromechanical, and functional outcomes in older adults with lumbar spondylosis: a randomized controlled trial.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Trial
- Development and Content Validation of an Exercise-Based Framework for the Management of Lumbar Radiculopathy.Physiotherapy research international : the journal for researchers and clinicians in physical therapy · 2026Review
- Acupuncture and Moxibustion Therapy Attenuates Inflammation in CCI-Induced Sciatica by Inhibiting the NF-κB Pathway.Journal of pharmacopuncture · 2026Article
- Exploring Causal Associations Between Plasma Metabolites and Sciatica: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2026Article
- Sex Differences in the Effects of Early Life Stressors in a Rat Model of Myofascial Low Back Pain.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2025Article
- Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Study on Determinants of Outcomes in Lumbar Radiculopathy Surgery.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Acupuncture Therapy for Sciatica: An Overview of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis.Journal of pain research · 2025Review
- Article
- Prevalence of weakness and factors mediating discrepancy between reported and observed leg weakness in people with sciatica.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 · 2024Article
- Article
- Early surgery for sciatica.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2023Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
purposePhysiotherapy interventions are prescribed as first-line treatment for people with sciatica; however, their effectiveness remains controversial. The purpose of this systematic review was to establish the short-, medium- and long-term effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions compared to control interventions for people with clinically diagnosed sciatica.
methodsThis systematic review was registered on PROSPERO CRD42018103900. Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), CINAHL (EBSCO), Embase, PEDro, PubMed, Scopus and grey literature were searched from inception to January 2021 without language restrictions. Inclusion criteria were randomised controlled trials evaluating physiotherapy interventions compared to a control intervention in people with clinical or imaging diagnosis of sciatica. Primary outcome measures were pain and disability. Study selection and data extraction were performed by two independent reviewers with consensus reached by discussion or third-party arbitration if required. Risk of bias was assessed independently by two reviewers using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool with third-party consensus if required. Meta-analyses and sensitivity analyses were performed with random effects models using Revman v5.4. Subgroup analyses were undertaken to examine the effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions compared to minimal (e.g. advice only) or substantial control interventions (e.g. surgery).
resultsThree thousand nine hundred and fifty eight records were identified, of which 18 trials were included, with a total number of 2699 participants. All trials had a high or unclear risk of bias. Meta-analysis of trials for the outcome of pain showed no difference in the short (SMD - 0.34 [95%CI - 1.05, 0.37] p = 0.34, I
conclusionBased on currently available, mostly high risk of bias and highly heterogeneous data, there is inadequate evidence to make clinical recommendations on the effectiveness of physiotherapy interventions for people with clinically diagnosed sciatica. Future studies should aim to reduce clinical heterogeneity and to use contemporary physiotherapy interventions.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic 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 Socratic graph.