ReviewEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2026
The efficacy of strength exercise dosage on pain and disability in people with low back pain: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Review 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.
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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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
objectiveThis systematic review aimed to evaluate the effects of strength exercise dosages on pain and disability in individuals with low back pain.
designSystematic review of randomized controlled trials. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, PEDro, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, AMED, and PsycINFO. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Randomized controlled trials comparing strength exercises of any dosage with minimal interventions for pain and disability in individuals with low back pain of any duration. Two reviewers independently screened trials, extracted data, assessed quality, and evaluated evidence using the GRADE framework. Mean differences with 95% CIs were reported.
resultsEight trials were included in the qualitative analysis, five in the quantitative analysis. All studies included in the meta-analysis compared exercise to minimal interventions. No studies regarding specific spine conditions or with pain duration of less than three months were included. Lumbar extension exercises (specific exercises; pain: -19.6 [-25.4 to -13.7]; disability:-12.5 [-14.9 to -10.1]), higher exercise intensities (> 60% 1 RM; pain: -19.3 [-27.0 to -11.6]; disability: -14.2 [-15.7 to -12.8]), lower frequencies (= once per week; pain: -19.3 [-27.0 to -11.6]; disability: -11.8 [-16.2 to -7.5]), and shorter treatment durations (< 3 months; pain: -19.9 [-26.0 to -13.8]; disability: -13.4 [-15.2 to -11.6]) presented statistically significant results in the reduction of both outcomes. Confidence on the evidence was low to very low.
conclusionOur results demonstrated statistically significant results that strength exercises with high intensity, low frequency, and that focus on back extensor muscles have effect on reducing pain and disability in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain. Overall evidence quality was low to very low. Future research should improve reporting of exercise variables in order to refine dosage recommendations. PROSPERO AND OPEN SCIENCE FRAMEWORK REGISTRATION NUMBERS: CRD42024500944. OSF DOI: https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/D34TJ .
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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 Socratic graph.