Comparative effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy combined with exercise versus exercise in the management of non-specific chronic low back pain: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Copyright © 2018 Paapa Kwesi Ampiah et al. Aims: To systematically review the evidence for the effectiveness of combining cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and exercise versus exercise alone in the management of patients with non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP). Methods: Electronic search of CINAHL, PUBMED, Sports Discuss, SCOPUS, AMED, MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and EMBASE, between 1990 – July 2017; complemented by hand searching of citation lists and citation tracking. Two independent reviewers screened titles and abstracts from the retrieved search results. Studies were considered based on PRISMA guidelines. Data was extracted based on Cochrane the Handbook of Systematic Reviews guidelines; the Cochrane Data Collection Form for Intervention Reviews (RCTs only), was customized and utilized. Risk of bias assessment was undertaken utilizing the Cochrane Back Review Group recommendations employing two independent reviewers. Meta-analysis was used to produce a weighted average for primary outcome measures, namely pain and disability. Results: Four studies were included (n = 406 participants); all studies provided post intervention results on pain and disability. Meta-analysis showed no significant difference between groups for both pain and disability, post intervention in the short term (pain; SMD -0.02, 95% CI -0.23 to 0.19; disability; SMD 0.06, 95% CI -0.15 to 0.27); medium term (pain; SMD -0.01, 95% CI -0.24 to0.22; disability; SMD 0.00, 95% CI -0.23 to 0.23); and long term (pain; SMD 0.06, 95% CI -0.18 to 0.29; disability; SMD -0.06, 95% CI -0.39 to 0.27). Copyright © 2018 Paapa Kwesi Ampiah et al. Conclusion: The findings from this review reveal that there is no significant difference between groups; that is, there is moderate level evidence that the addition of CBT to exercise for patients with NSCLBP does not improve pain and disability outcomes in either the short, medium, or long term; however, both interventions (CBT plus exercise and exercise alone) produce favourable outcomes