| Study characteristics |
| Methods |
Study design: RCT
Setting: Sweden, mixed
Exercise groups: 2
Comparison groups: 0 |
| Participants |
Number of participants: 71 (E1 = 36, E2 = 35)
Chronic LBP duration: 10 years (long)
Neurological/radicular symptoms: Some participants
Mean age (years): 38
Sex (female): 50% |
| Interventions |
Exercise Group 1 (E1): Graded stabilising exercises: low‐load endurance exercises (Richardson 1999) and home training, incorporating activation of stabilising muscles into daily life with biofeedback; type = core strengthening; duration = 8 weeks; dose = low; design = individualised; delivery = individual; additional intervention = advice/education
Exercise Group 2 (E2): Walking at‐home programme: daily 30 minutes walk at fastest pace without pain, general home exercises with walking diary; type = aerobic; duration = 8 weeks; dose = high; design = individualised; delivery = independent with follow‐up; additional intervention = advice/education |
| Outcomes |
Core outcomes reported: Pain (Visual Analogue Scale); function (Oswestry Disability Index)
Follow‐up time periods available for syntheses: 8 weeks (short); 26 weeks (moderate); 52 weeks (long) |
| Notes |
Conflicts of interest: None to declare
Funding source: Capio Research Foundation; Ann‐Marie and Ragnar Hemborg Foundation
Other: None |
| Risk of bias |
| Bias |
Authors' judgement |
Support for judgement |
| Random sequence generation (selection bias) |
Low risk |
A fixed allocation randomisation procedure guaranteed equal numbers of patients of each sex in each group. |
| Allocation concealment (selection bias) |
Low risk |
The assignments were presented in sealed, sequentially numbered envelopes, and the assignment list was maintained by the clinicians secretarial staff. |
| Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias)
All outcomes |
High risk |
Not described |
| Blinding of care provider (performance bias) |
High risk |
Not described |
| Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias)
All outcomes |
High risk |
Not described |
| Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias)
All outcomes |
Low risk |
See Figure 1 for dropouts |
| Participants analysed in group allocated (attrition bias) |
Low risk |
An intention‐to‐treat procedure was followed (last‐observation‐carried‐forward). |
| Selective reporting (reporting bias) |
Low risk |
Support for judgement was not available. |
| Groups similar at baseline (selection bias) |
Low risk |
Clinical and demographic characteristics were similar between the two groups (Table 1). |
| Co‐interventions avoided or similar (performance bias) |
Unclear risk |
Twenty‐two per cent in the exercise group and 46% in the reference group reported a recurrent need for new treatment periods at the 12‐month follow‐up. |
| Compliance acceptable in all groups (performance bias) |
Low risk |
In the exercise group, there was 96% attendance at the physical therapy sessions, and in the reference group, 71% adherence with the daily walks. |
| Timing of outcome assessment similar in all groups (detection bias) |
Low risk |
Support for judgement was not available. |
