Fairbank 2005.

Methods	RCT conducted in the UK
Participants	Patients referred to surgical departments of 15 hospitals with age 18‐55, LBP >1 year, surgeon unsure if surgery or rehab more suitable. 349 patients randomised, 50.7% female, average age not reported, mean duration of pain 8 years
Interventions	MBR (Rehabilitation): 5 days/week for 3/52 plus 1 follow‐up session. Stretching, strengthening, stabilisation, cardiovascular endurance, hydrotherapy. CBT approach; pacing, addressing unhelpful beliefs and fears Surgery (Surgery): Spinal stabilisation surgery
Outcomes	Pain (SF‐36 bodily pain), Disability (ODI), General Health (SF‐36) Follow‐ups: LT (2 years)
Notes	Subgroup analyses: Mid‐intensity intervention, Low baseline symptom intensity (<60% of maximum scale score)
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Pg.2 Treatment allocation. "Randomisation was generated centrally by computer program"
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Unclear risk	Unclear
Blinding of participants	High risk	Not possible
Blinding of clinicians	High risk	Not possible
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	High risk	Not possible; patient reported outcome
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Flow chart. 12‐month follow‐up rate 89%
Intention to treat analysis	Low risk	pg.2 Statistical Methods. "We carried out an intention to treat analysis"
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Unclear risk	No protocol
Comparability of groups at baseline	Low risk	Table 1
Compliance	Unclear risk	Not stated
Cointerventions	Low risk	Table 3 (Rivero‐Arias). Other resource usage comparable between groups
Timing of assessment	Low risk	pg.2 Outcome Measures. "We assessed outcomes at baseline and 6, 12, and 24 months from randomisation"