Table 2.

Effectiveness of conservative interventions for chronic non-specific low back pain

	Number of studies	Short-term		Long-term
		Pain	Function	Pain	Function
Antidepressants
Placebo	10	+a	?b
Other tx
Muscle relaxants
Benzodiazepines placebo	3	+
Non-benzodiazepines placebo	3	?
NSAIDs
Placebo	5	+	+
Back schools
Sham/waiting list	8	?	?
Other tx	6	+	+	0	0c
Behavioural treatment
Progressive relaxation waiting list	2	+	+
EMG biofeedback waiting list	3		?
Operant treatment waiting list	3	?
Cognitive–respondent tx waiting list	5	+
Behavioural treatment
Exercise	1	0	0	0	0
Other tx	33	+	+	+	+
Multidisciplinary treatment for subacute low back pain
Usual care	2			0	+
Multidisciplinary treatment for chronic low back pain
Other tx	10	+	+	+	+
Spinal manipulation
Sham	3	+	+	+
Ineffective tx	4	+	+
Effective tx	4	0	0	0	0
Traction
Placebo	2	0	0
TENS
Placebo	5	0	0

^a+ stands for more effective than comparison

^b? stands for effectiveness unclear because of conflicting findings across studies

^c0 stands for no differences in effectiveness

^d- stands for less effective than comparison