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Each row is one question a systematic review asked: who, what, compared with what, and which outcome, with the effect it found and how certain that is. Words match anywhere in the field.
767 questions in 53 reviews · Back and Neck
current versionsNo studies 149 · 19.4%Ungraded 41 · 5.3%Very low 168 · 21.9%Low 226 · 29.5%Moderate 156 · 20.3%High 27 · 3.5%
Ungraded means an effect was reported without a GRADE rating; it is not a gap. No studies means the review found nothing to answer the question. The six categories are a display order, not a score.
| Question | Effect | Evidence | Status / GRADE |
|---|---|---|---|
Summary of findings: Exercise treatment vs no treatment, usual care or placebo Pain intensity (0‐100; 0 = no pain): Earliest Exercise therapy for chronic low back pain (2021) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 2746 participants | Moderate |
Summary of findings: Exercise treatment vs no treatment, usual care or placebo Functional limitations (0‐100; 0 = no functional limitations): Earliest Exercise therapy for chronic low back pain (2021) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 2942 participants | Moderate |
Summary of findings: Exercise treatment vs other conservative treatments Pain intensity (0‐100 points; 0 = no pain): Earliest Exercise therapy for chronic low back pain (2021) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 6295 participants | Low |
Summary of findings: Exercise treatment vs other conservative treatments Functional limitations (0‐100 points; 0 = no functional limitations): Earliest Exercise therapy for chronic low back pain (2021) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 6004 participants | Moderate |
Summary of findings: Exercise treatment vs other conservative treatments *The anticipated absolute effects without exercise come from the range of outcomes at Exercise therapy for chronic low back pain (2021) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Therapeutic ultrasound vs placebo Pain intensity Scale: VAS (100‐point scale; higher scores mean increased pain) · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 121 participants | Very low |
Therapeutic ultrasound plus exercise vs exercise alone Back‐specific functional status Scale: Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (higher scores mean worse function) · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 79 participants | Very low |
Therapeutic ultrasound plus exercise vs exercise alone Overall improvement or satisfaction · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Therapeutic ultrasound plus exercise vs exercise alone Well‐being Scale: general health subscale of SF‐36 (higher scores mean worse well‐being) · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 79 participants | Very low |
Therapeutic ultrasound plus exercise vs exercise alone Disability · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Therapeutic ultrasound plus exercise vs exercise alone Adverse events · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Therapeutic ultrasound vs placebo Pain intensity Scale: VAS (number of responders at 30% reduction of pain) · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | RR 1.08 [0.81, 1.44] | 1 study · 225 participants | Moderate |
Therapeutic ultrasound vs placebo Back‐specific functional status Scale: Functional Rating Index, Roland‐Morris Disability Questionnaire, or Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (higher scores mean worse function) · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 4 studies · 325 participants | Low |
Therapeutic ultrasound vs placebo Overall improvement or satisfaction · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 486 participants | Low |
Therapeutic ultrasound vs placebo Well‐being Scale: general health subscale of SF‐36 (higher scores mean worse well‐being) · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 267 participants | Moderate |
Therapeutic ultrasound vs placebo Disability · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Therapeutic ultrasound vs placebo Adverse events · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 225 participants | Low |
Therapeutic ultrasound plus exercise vs exercise alone Pain intensity Scale: VAS (100‐point scale; higher scores mean increased pain) · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 70 participants | Very low |
Therapeutic ultrasound plus exercise vs exercise alone Pain intensity Scale: VAS (number of responders at 30% reduction of pain) · adults with chronic low back pain Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Intervention NR Leg pain ‒short‐term · lumbosacral radicular pain Epidural corticosteroid injections for lumbosacral radicular pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 8 studies · 949 participants | Moderate |
Intervention NR Disability ‒short‐term (> 2 weeks but ≤ 3 months) Disability reported using multiple scales (RMDQ and ODI). Disability scores were converted to a common 0 to 100 scale. Higher scores indicate greater disability. · lumbosacral radicular pain Epidural corticosteroid injections for lumbosacral radicular pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 12 studies · 1367 participants | Moderate |
Intervention NR Minor adverse events** ‒short‐term (> 2 weeks but ≤ 3 months) Minor adverse events provided as the proportion of patients reporting any untoward medical occurrence after an epidural injection without hospitalisations. · lumbosacral radicular pain Epidural corticosteroid injections for lumbosacral radicular pain (2020) · Cochrane | RR 1.14 [0.91, 1.42] | 8 studies · 877 participants | Very low |
Intervention NR Major adverse events** ‒short‐term (> 2 weeks but ≤ 3 months) Major adverse events provided as the proportion of patients reporting any untoward medical occurrence after an epidural injection with hospitalizations. · lumbosacral radicular pain Epidural corticosteroid injections for lumbosacral radicular pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 160 participants | Moderate |
NSAIDs vs placebo Pain intensity VAS (0 to 100; lower = better) · adults (≥ 18 years of age) with acute low back pain Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for acute low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 4 studies · 815 participants | Moderate |
Selective COX‐2 inhibitors vs non‐selective NSAIDs Return to work (%) · adults (≥ 18 years of age) with acute low back pain (LBP) Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for acute low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
NSAIDs vs placebo Disability RMDQ (0 to 24; lower = better) · adults (≥ 18 years of age) with acute low back pain Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for acute low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 471 participants | High |
NSAIDs vs placebo Proportion of participants experiencing global improvement Various dichotomised Likert scales; lower = better · adults (≥ 18 years of age) with acute low back pain Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for acute low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | RR 1.4 [1.12, 1.75] | 5 studies · 1201 participants | Low |
NSAIDs vs placebo Proportion of participants experiencing adverse events · adults (≥ 18 years of age) with acute low back pain Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for acute low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | RR 0.86 [0.63, 1.18] | 6 studies · 1394 participants | Very low |
NSAIDs vs placebo Return to work (%) · adults (≥ 18 years of age) with acute low back pain Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for acute low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | RR 1.48 [0.98, 2.23] | 1 study · 266 participants | Very low |
Selective COX‐2 inhibitors vs non‐selective NSAIDs Change in pain intensity from baseline VAS (0 to 100; lower = better) · adults (≥ 18 years of age) with acute low back pain (LBP) Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for acute low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 437 participants | Low |
Selective COX‐2 inhibitors vs non‐selective NSAIDs Disability ODI (0 to 50; lower = better) · adults (≥ 18 years of age) with acute low back pain (LBP) Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for acute low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 2 studies · 437 participants | Moderate |
Selective COX‐2 inhibitors vs non‐selective NSAIDs Proportion of participants experiencing global improvement % of dichotomized Likert scale · adults (≥ 18 years of age) with acute low back pain (LBP) Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for acute low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 333 participants | Low |
Selective COX‐2 inhibitors vs non‐selective NSAIDs Proportion of participants experiencing adverse events · adults (≥ 18 years of age) with acute low back pain (LBP) Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs for acute low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | RR 0.97 [0.63, 1.5] | 2 studies · 444 participants | Very low |
Acupuncture vs sham intervention Pain intensity VAS (0 to 100; 0 = no pain, 100 = worst pain) · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 7 studies · 1403 participants | Low |
Acupuncture vs usual care Pain intensity VAS (0 to 100; 0 = no pain, 100 = worst pain) · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 5 studies · 1054 participants | Low |
Acupuncture vs usual care Back‐specific functional status HFAQ (0 to 100; 0 = disabled, 100 = full function) · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 5 studies · 1381 participants | Low |
Acupuncture vs usual care Quality of life (QoL) – physical health SF‐12 (0 to 100; 0 = poor QoL, 100 = high QoL) · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 731 participants | Moderate |
Acupuncture vs usual care QoL: mental health SF‐12 (0 to 100; 0 = poor QoL, 100 = high QoL) · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 1 study · 731 participants | Moderate |
Acupuncture vs usual care Adverse events Self‐reported · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | RR 3.34 [0.36, 30.68] | 1 study · 74 participants | Low |
Acupuncture vs sham intervention Back‐specific functional status HFAQ (0 to 100; 0 = disabled, 100 = full function) · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 5 studies · 1481 participants | Very low |
Acupuncture vs sham intervention Quality of life (QoL) SF‐12 (0 to 100; 0 = poor QoL, 100 = high QoL) · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 1068 participants | Low |
Acupuncture vs sham intervention Mental health · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 3 studies · 1068 participants | Low |
Acupuncture vs sham intervention Adverse events Self‐reported · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | RR 0.68 [0.46, 1.01] | 4 studies · 465 participants | Low |
Acupuncture vs no treatment Pain intensity VAS (0 to 100; 0 = no pain, 100 = worst pain) · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 4 studies · 366 participants | Moderate |
Acupuncture vs no treatment Back‐specific functional status HFAQ (0 to 100; 0 = disabled, 100 = full function) · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | 5 studies · 2960 participants | Moderate |
Acupuncture vs no treatment Quality of life (QoL) physical health, mental health · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Acupuncture vs no treatment Adverse events Self‐reported · chronic nonspecific low back pain Acupuncture for chronic nonspecific low back pain (2020) · Cochrane | no estimate extracted | NR | No studies |
Intervention NR WORK PARTICIPATION · People with non‐specific low back pain presenting to healthcare, occupational, general or mixed populations Prognostic… Individual recovery expectations and prognosis of outcomes in non‐specific low back pain: prognostic factor… (2019) · Cochrane | OR 2.43 [1.64, 3.62] | 16 studies · 4324 participants | Moderate |
Intervention NR IMPORTANT RECOVERY · People with non‐specific low back pain presenting to healthcare, occupational, general or mixed populations Prognostic… Individual recovery expectations and prognosis of outcomes in non‐specific low back pain: prognostic factor… (2019) · Cochrane | OR 1.89 [1.49, 2.41] | 6 studies · 7265 participants | Low |
Intervention NR FUNCTIONAL LIMITATIONS · People with non‐specific low back pain presenting to healthcare, occupational, general or mixed populations Prognostic… Individual recovery expectations and prognosis of outcomes in non‐specific low back pain: prognostic factor… (2019) · Cochrane | OR 1.4 [0.85, 2.31] | 6 studies · 1397 participants | Very low |