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

by James Lemieux, Vahid Abdollah, Brandyn Powelske, Greg Kawchuk

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.

To compare the effectiveness of group-based exercise with other non-pharmacological interventions in people with chronic LBP.

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.

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.

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.