Comparing the effectiveness of group-based exercise to other non-pharmacological interventions for chronic low back pain: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide with a substantial financial burden on individuals and health care systems. To address this, clinical practice guidelines often recommend non-pharmacological, non-invasive management approaches. One management approach that has been recommended and widely implemented for chronic LBP is group-based exercise programs, however, their clinical value compared with other non-pharmacological interventions has not been investigated systematically. OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of group-based exercise with other non-pharmacological interventions in people with chronic LBP. METHODS: Four electronic databases were searched by two independent reviewers. Only randomized controlled trials that compared group-based exercise with other non-pharmacological interventions for chronic LBP were eligible. Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane Handbook for systematic reviews of Interventions by two independent reviewers. RESULTS: Eleven studies were eligible. We identified strong evidence of no difference between group exercise and other non-pharmacologic interventions for disability level and pain scores 3-month post-intervention in people with chronic LBP. We could not find any strong or moderate evidence for or against the use of group-based exercise in the rehabilitation of people with chronic LBP for other time-points and health measurement outcomes. We found no statistically significant differences in disability and quality of life and pain between the group and individual non-pharmacological interventions that included exercise. CONCLUSION: With this equivocal finding, group-based exercise may be a preferred choice given potential advantages in other domains not reviewed here such as motivation and cost. Further research in this area is needed to evaluate this possibility.