Table 2. Summary of articles for patients with acute–subacute LBP.
| AUTHORS sample size LBP status | Methodological quality of studies | Intervention+co-intervention | Comparison group+co-intervention | Outcomes measures of interest | Clinical relevance status on timing outcomes: between groups P value and effect sizes |
| Santilli et al.57 (2006) N = 102 | Level A 10/11 | MT1 | Sham MT1 | Local and radiating pain (VAS) | YES: at 45 days, P<0.0001 and MD = 1.8; at 90 days, P<0.0001 and MD = 1.8 |
| ALBP 1–3 | Care provider not blinded | 5 times per week for maximum 4 weeks | 5 times per week for maximum 4 weeks | Time to pain free status | YES: At 180 days, for local pain: P<0.005 and MD = 22% and for radiating pain: P<0.0001 and MD 35% |
| Overall-Health (SF-36) | NO: non-significant differences between groups | ||||
| Hoiriis et al.58 (2004) N = 192 | Level A 9/11 | MT1+drug placebo | Sham MT1+myorelaxant drug | Pain (VAS) | YES: 4 weeks, P<0.05 and SMD = 0.70 |
| ALBP 1 | Care provider not blinded? no intention-to-treat-analysis | 7 sessions over 2 weeks for all groups | Sham MT1+placebo drug | Functional disabilities (ODI) | NO: at 4 weeks, NS and SMD = 0.35 (MT1 vs myorelaxant), 0.29 (MT1 vs placebo) |
| Von Heymann et al.59 (2013) N = 101 | Level A 10/11 | MT1+drug placebo | Sham MT1+placebo drug | Pain (VAS) | YES: at 9 days between groups P = 0.013 and MD = 2.0 |
| ALBP 1-2 | Care provider not blinded | 2–3 sessions over 1 week for all groups | Sham MT1+diclofenac | Functional disabilities (RMDQ) | YES: at 9 days between groups P = 0.013 and SMD = 0.60 |
| Quality of life (SF-12, medication consumption, work-off) | NO: non-significant differences between groups | ||||
| Bishop et al.60 (2010) N = 88 | Level B 8/11 | MT1 + UMC | UMC alone | Functional disabilities (RMDQ) | YES: at 16–24 weeks, P = 0.002 and MD = 2.6 |
| ALBP 1–2 | Care provider and patients not blinded, no intention-to-treat-analysis | 2–3 sessions over 4 weeks | |||
| Cruser et al.61 (2012) N = 63 | Level B 9/11 | MT3+UMC | UMC alone | Pain (VAS) | YES: at 4 weeks: for pain now, P = 0.025 and SMD = 1.04; for pain typical, P = 0.020 and SMD = 0.88 |
| ALBP 1–3 | Care provider and patients not blinded | 4 sessions over 4 weeks | Functional disabilities (RMDQ) | YES: at 4 weeks: P = 0.026 and SMD = 0.56 |
Note: ALBP = acute LBP; ASLBP = acute and subacute LBP: 1 = LBP alone, 2 = LBP radiating not below knee, 3 = LBP radiating below knee without neurologic deficit. MT = manual therapy; MT1 = spinal manipulation, MT2 = spinal mobilization techniques; MT3 = MT1+MT2. UMC = usual medical care. NS = non-statistically significant difference. SMD = between groups standardized mean of difference; MD = between groups mean of difference. Yes = P<0.05+moderate-large effect size (SMD, MD) in favour of MT. VAS = Visual Analogical Scale; NPRS = Numerical Pain Rating Scale; ODI = Oswestry Disability Index; RMDQ = Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire; SF-36 = short-form-health-survey.