Table 3 Summary of efforts to promote practically identical clinical practice exercise programmes
Clinical entity | Aim |
|---|---|
Inclusion and exclusion criteria | Include only subjects who are adults with low back pain lasting more than three months (pain sensation more than three days per week) to promote a uniform pain population |
Exclude known cardiovascular, respiratory, rheumatic and neurological diseases potentially affecting breathing mechanics and hence potentially affecting the effects of SBTs | |
Clinical assessment before inclusion | Include only participants with movement control impairment with exactly similar test batteries to promote homogeneity of treatment and physical performance heterogeneity between the groups |
Include only participants with non-specific CLBP, excluding participants with symptomatic nerve root pathology due to intervertebral disc herniation or lumbar spinal stenosis | |
Single-clinician study design | The aim is to minimize the intervention differences and effects of contextual factors of clinic settings, such as environment, interior design and therapists’ behaviour, communication and approach to treatment |
Exercise | The research appointment follows a similar frequency over eight weeks with the aim of uniform treatment between groups |
There will be a similar number of exercises delivered to the subject in each clinical visit to promote uniform treatment between groups | |
Clinical instructions for both groups concentrate on the treatment of movement control impairment | |
The exact exercises are chosen according to individual movement impairment, but similar exercises are emphasized for all participants | |
Identical general instructions for both groups | |
Other interventions | The aim is to exclude other evidence-based interventions in order to evaluate more precisely the outcome differences of the study groups |