Table 2.

Components of physiotherapy interventions

Study	Exercise	Advice/Education	Manual therapy	Home exercise	Oral analgesia/ neuropathic	Frequency/duration of physiotherapy intervention	Additional interventions/ adjuncts
Physiotherapy vs. minimal intervention (7 RCTs)
Ferreira et al. [18]	√	√		√		4 treatment sessions over 2 weeks
Fritz et al. [19]	√		√	√		6-8x during 4 wks, 2x each wk during first 2 wks and 1-2x in wks 3&4. Home exercises every 4-5 hours days between sessions.
Ghoname et al. [20]						30 mins 3x weekly for 3 weeks	TENS therapy, 4 x 2.5cm cutaneous pads at 4Hz, pulse duration 0.1s
Hofstee et al. [21]	√	√		√		Twice weekly, minimum 4 wks maximum 8 wks	Hydrotherapy
Konstantinovic et al. [22]		√			√	5x weekly for a total of 15 treatments	Low level laser therapy, 5000 frequency, 100mW, 3J
Luijsterburg et al. [23]	√	√				Not reported
Santilli et al. [24]			√			5 days per week for 30 days
Physiotherapy vs. surgical (11 RCTS)
Amundsen et al. [25]	√					Not reported	3m inpatient stay, 3-point thoracolumbar hyperextension brace
Bailey et al. [26]		√			√	Spinal specialist medications, education & assessment of response to treatment on 6-wk basis min of 6m	Active physiotherapy at discretion of physiotherapists (number unspecified). Optional epidural injection
Burton et al. [27]		√	√			12 weeks maximum	Soft tissue stretching of lumbar and buttock muscles
Erginousakis et al. [28]		√			√	Mean duration 22 days (range 7–35 days)
McMorland et al. [29]	√	√	√			Not reported	Ice or heat
Mondal et al. [30]	√				√	Not reported
Nikoobakht et al. [31]	√		√	√	√	20 sessions, 12 weeks	Bed rest, local injections
Osterman et al. [32]	√	√				3 times (at follow-ups 6wk, 3m, 12m)
Peul et al. [33]		√				Not reported	Patients fearful of movement referred to physiotherapy (number unspecified)
Weber et al. [34]	√					Not reported	Strict bed rest week 1, partial bed rest week 2. Group lessons in ‘back school’
Weinstein et al. [35]	√	√		√	√	Not reported

m month; wk week