REHABILITATION MANAGEMENT OF CHRONIC NONSPECIFIC LOW BACK PAIN: A MODERN PERSPECTIVE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/health-2025.2.21Keywords:
pain, chronic pain, nonspecific low back pain, multidisciplinary approach, rehabilitationAbstract
Non-specific lower back pain accounts for 80–90 % of all cases of lower back pain and is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Nonspecific low back pain is diagnosed by ruling out specific causes through a detailed medical history, physical examination, and does not require imaging. The clinical course of nonspecific lower back pain is often favorable, so many patients require minimal medical care or none at all. Management of chronic lower back pain focuses on reducing pain intensity, improving function, and enhancing quality of life. Clinical guidelines recommend a multidisciplinary approach, rehabilitation, psychological interventions, and educational programs based on evidence- based medicine for chronic pain. The multidisciplinary approach is based on the principles of the biopsychosocial model, involving specialists from different fields, depending on the clinical and functional status of patients. Preference is given to active rehabilitation interventions, which, in combination with psychological interventions, have a number of advantages for patient recovery. Among physical exercises, the most effective are exercises to strengthen the muscles that stabilize the spine, breathing exercises, and aerobic exercises. Pilates, yoga, tai chi, and McKenzie therapy lead to pain reduction and improved functional abilities in patients with chronic low back pain. Massage, manual techniques, acupuncture, ultrasound therapy, and TENS can be included in the rehabilitation program as adjunctive therapies. A multidisciplinary rehabilitation program should be adapted to the state medical care system and outpatient rehabilitation for the general promotion of strategies to combat chronic low back pain among Ukrainians.
References
Yılmaz, B.Ö., & Aydın, E. (2023). Discussion of International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) pain definition: What has changed in 2020? HEALTH SCIENCES QUARTERLY, 3(4), 283–291.
GBD 2021 Low Back Pain Collaborators. Global, regional, and national burden of low back pain, 1990–2020, its attributable risk factors, and projections to 2050: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Rheumatol 2023: 5: e316–29.
Hoy, D., March, L., Brooks, P., Blyth, F., Woolf, A., Bain, C., Williams, G., Smith, E., Vos, T., Barendregt, J., Murray, C., Burstein, R., & Buchbinder, R. (2014). The global burden of low back pain: estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 73(6), 968–974. https://doi.org/10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-204428
Chiarotto, A., & Koes, B. W. (2022). Nonspecific low back pain. New England Journal of Medicine, 386(18), 1732–1740.
Airaksinen, O., Brox, J. I., Cedraschi, C., Hildebrandt, J., Klaber-Moffett, J., Kovacs, F., Mannion, A. F., Reis, S., Staal, J. B., Ursin, H., Zanoli, G., & COST B13 Working Group on Guidelines for Chronic Low Back Pain (2006). Chapter 4. European guidelines for the management of chronic nonspecific low back pain. European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 15 Suppl 2(Suppl 2), S192–S300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00586-006-1072-1
Cieza, A., Causey, K., Kamenov, K., Hanson, S.W., Chatterji, S., & Vos, T. (2021). Global estimates of the need for rehabilitation based on the Global Burden of Disease study 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet (London, England), 396(10267), 2006–2017. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32340-0
Malfliet, A., Ickmans, K., Huysmans, E., Coppieters, I., Willaert, W., Bogaert, W. V., Rheel, E., Bilterys, T., Wilgen, P. V., & Nijs, J. (2019). Best Evidence Rehabilitation for Chronic Pain Part 3: Low Back Pain. Journal of clinical medicine, 8(7), 1063. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm8071063
World Health Organization. (2023). Package of interventions for rehabilitation. Module 2. Musculoskeletal conditions. World Health Organization.
Alperovitch-Najenson, D., Becker, A., Belton, J., Buchbinder, R., Cadmus, E. O., Cardosa, M.,... & Hincapié, C. (2023). WHO guideline for non-surgical management of chronic primary low back pain in adults in primary and community care settings. World Health Organization.
Carville, S., Constanti, M., Kosky, N., Stannard, C., & Wilkinson, C. (2021). Chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s: summary of NICE guidance. BMJ, n895. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n895
Korwisi, B., Barke, A., Kharko, A., Bruhin, C., Locher, C., & Koechlin, H. (2021). Not really nice: a commentary on the recent version of NICE guidelines [NG193: chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s: assessment of all chronic pain and management of chronic primary pain] by the Pain Net. Pain reports, 6(4), e961. https://doi.org/10.1097/PR9.0000000000000961
Chou, R., Qaseem, A., Snow, V., Casey, D., Cross, J. T., Jr, Shekelle, P., Owens, D. K. Clinical Efficacy Assessment Subcommittee of the American College of Physicians, American College of Physicians, & American Pain Society Low Back Pain Guidelines Panel (2007). Diagnosis and treatment of low back pain: a joint clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society. Annals of internal medicine, 147(7), 478–491. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-147-7-200710020-00006
Kreiner, D. S., Matz, P., Bono, C. M., Cho, C. H., Easa, J. E., Ghiselli, G., Ghogawala, Z., Reitman, C. A., Resnick, D. K., Watters, W. C., 3rd, Annaswamy, T. M., Baisden, J., Bartynski, W. S., Bess, S., Brewer, R. P., Cassidy, R. C., Cheng, D. S., Christie, S. D., Chutkan, N. B., Cohen, B. A., … Yahiro, A. M. (2020). Guideline summary review: an evidence- based clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of low back pain. The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society, 20(7), 998–1024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spinee.2020.04.006
Zaina, F., Côté, P., Cancelliere, C., Di Felice, F., Donzelli, S., Rauch, A., Verville, L., Negrini, S., & Nordin, M. (2023). A Systematic Review of Clinical Practice Guidelines for Persons With Non-specific Low Back Pain With and Without Radiculopathy: Identification of Best Evidence for Rehabilitation to Develop the WHO’s Package of Interventions for Rehabilitation. Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation, 104(11), 1913–1927. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2023.02.022
Bernstein, I. A., Malik, Q., Carville, S., & Ward, S. (2017). Low back pain and sciatica: summary of NICE guidance. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 356, i6748. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i6748
College of Family Physicians of Canada. (2015). Evidence-informed primary care management of low back pain: Towards Optimized Pratice. Clinical Practice Guideline; College of Family Physicians of Canada: Mississauga, ON, Canada.
Hayden, J. A., Ellis, J., Ogilvie, R., Stewart, S. A., Bagg, M. K., Stanojevic, S., Yamato, T. P., & Saragiotto, B. T. (2021). Some types of exercise are more effective than others in people with chronic low back pain: a network meta-analysis. Journal of physiotherapy, 67(4), 252–262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2021.09.004
Hegmann, K. T., Travis, R., Andersson, G. B., Belcourt, R. M., Carragee, E. J., Donelson, R.,... & Harris, J. S. (2020). Non-invasive and minimally invasive management of low back disorders. Journal of occupational and environmental medicine, 62(3), e111–e138.
Kreiner, D. S., Matz, P., Bono, C. M., Cho, C. H., Easa, J. E., Ghiselli, G.,... & Yahiro, A. M. (2020). Guideline summary review: an evidence-based clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of low back pain. The Spine Journal, 20(7), 998–1024.
Chatzitheodorou, D., Kabitsis, C., Malliou, P., & Mougios, V. (2007). A pilot study of the effects of high-intensity aerobic exercise versus passive interventions on pain, disability, psychological strain, and serum cortisol concentrations in people with chronic low back pain. Physical therapy, 87(3), 304–312. https://doi.org/10.2522/ptj.20060080
Meng, X. G., & Yue, S. W. (2015). Efficacy of aerobic exercise for treatment of chronic low back pain: a meta-analysis. American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation, 94(5), 358–365. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHM.0000000000000188
Chan, E. W., Nadzalan, A., Othman, Z., Hafiz, E., & Hamid, M. S. (2020). The short-term effects of progressive vs conventional core stability exercise in rehabilitation of nonspecific chronic low back pain. Sains Malaysiana, 49(10), 2527–2537.
Oh, Y. J., Park, S. H., & Lee, M. M. (2020). Comparison of effects of abdominal draw-in lumbar stabilization exercises with and without respiratory resistance on women with low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. Medical science monitor: international medical journal of experimental and clinical research, 26, e921295–1.
Farber, K., & Wieland, L. S. (2016). Massage for Low-back Pain. Explore (New York, N.Y.), 12(3), 215–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2016.02.014
Rubinstein, S. M., De Zoete, A., Van Middelkoop, M., Assendelft, W. J., De Boer, M. R., & Van Tulder, M. W. (2019). Benefits and harms of spinal manipulative therapy for the treatment of chronic low back pain: systematic review and meta- analysis of randomised controlled trials. bmj, 364.
Ogunniran, I. A., Akodu, A. K., & Odebiyi, D. O. (2023). Effects of kinesiology taping and core stability exercise on clinical variables in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of bodywork and movement therapies, 33, 20–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbmt.2022.09.013
Collacott, E. A., Zimmerman, J. T., White, D. W., & Rindone, J. P. (2000). Bipolar permanent magnets for the treatment of chronic low back pain: a pilot study. Jama, 283(10), 1322–1325.
Gale, G. D., Rothbart, P. J., & Li, Y. (2006). Infrared therapy for chronic low back pain: a randomized, controlled trial. Pain Research and Management, 11(3), 193–196.
Ay, S., Doğan, Ş. K., & Evcik, D. (2010). Is low-level laser therapy effective in acute or chronic low back pain?. Clinical rheumatology, 29, 905–910.
Facci, L. M., Nowotny, J. P., Tormem, F., & Trevisani, V. F. M. (2011). Effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and interferential currents (IFC) in patients with nonspecific chronic low back pain: randomized clinical trial. Sao Paulo Medical Journal, 129, 206–216.
Ebadi, S., Henschke, N., Forogh, B., Nakhostin Ansari, N., van Tulder, M. W., Babaei-Ghazani, A., & Fallah, E. (2020). Therapeutic ultrasound for chronic low back pain. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 7(7), CD009169. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD009169.pub3
Henchoz, Y., de Goumoëns, P., So, A. K., & Paillex, R. (2010). Functional multidisciplinary rehabilitation versus outpatient physiotherapy for non specific low back pain: randomized controlled trial. Swiss medical weekly, 140.
Kamper, S. J., Apeldoorn, A. T., Chiarotto, A., Smeets, R. J., Ostelo, R. W., Guzman, J., & van Tulder, M. (2015). Multidisciplinary biopsychosocial rehabilitation for chronic low back pain: Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis. Bmj, 350.
Saragiotto, B. T., de Almeida, M. O., Yamato, T. P., & Maher, C. G. (2016). Multidisciplinary biopsychosocial rehabilitation for nonspecific chronic low back pain. Physical therapy, 96(6), 759–763.
Dalmau-Roig, A., Dürsteler, C., Ochandorena-Acha, M., Vilchez-Oya, F., Martin-Villalba, I., Obach, A., & Terradas-Monllor, M. (2025). A multidisciplinary pain management program for patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized, single-blind, controlled, feasibility study. BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 26(1), 59. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12891-025-08294-8
Ho, E. K., Chen, L., Simic, M., Ashton-James, C. E., Comachio, J., Wang, D. X. M., Hayden, J. A., Ferreira, M. L., & Ferreira, P. H. (2022). Psychological interventions for chronic, non-specific low back pain: systematic review with network meta-analysis. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 376, e067718. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj-2021-067718
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Марія Олександрівна Овдій, Володимир Олексійович Зайцев, Володимир Володимирович Черняков

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.