We’re continuing our journey through PEDro’s Top 25 Trials, and this episode takes us to a landmark study in low back pain care.

Today’s featured trial is the 1995 BMJ study by Frost and colleagues:
Randomised controlled trial for evaluation of a fitness programme for patients with chronic low back pain.

Why did this study matter?
At the time, back pain was often managed very conservatively, sometimes even with bed rest and mostly passive, one-to-one treatments. In our 2019 interview, Dr Frost explained that research was pointing towards a more active approach, yet many people with back pain were unsure where to start and afraid to exercise.

The back fitness programme was designed as a “stepping stone”, helping people build confidence and overcome fear of exercising with back pain. While exercise has always been central to physiotherapy, this was one of the first hospital-based programs evaluated in a randomised controlled trial, paving the way for larger, multi-centre studies.

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