Integrating lifestyle support into traditional low back pain care improves disability and quality of life.
Context
To evaluate whether adding healthy lifestyle management to guideline-based care improves disability and other health outcomes in adults with chronic low back pain.
Methods
- Participants: 346 adults with chronic low back pain and ≥1 lifestyle risk (overweight, poor diet, inactivity or smoking).
- Interventions:
- – Healthy lifestyle group (HeLP): Guideline-based physiotherapy plus lifestyle education, dietitian session, educational resources and up to 10 health coaching calls over 6 months.
- – Control group: Guideline-based physiotherapy care only.
- Primary Outcome: Disability at 26 weeks (Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, 0–24 scale).
- Secondary Outcomes: Weight, pain intensity, quality of life, smoking status.
- Analysis: Intention-to-treat and sensitivity analyses.
Results
- Primary Outcome: Small but significant improvement in disability in healthy lifestyle group
- Secondary Outcomes:
- – HeLP group lost 1.6 kg more than those in guideline-based care
- – Improved physical quality of life in HeLP group
- – No significant differences in pain intensity, mental quality of life or smoking
Reference
FMudd, E., Davidson, S. R. E., Kamper, S. J., Viana da Silva, P., Gleadhill, C., Hodder, R. K., Haskins, R., Donald, B., & Williams, C. M. (2025). Healthy lifestyle care vs guideline-based care for low back pain: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 8(1), Article e2453807.
