Yuan Feng, Chuanmei Zhu, Huizhen Liu, Tianjie Bao ,Chongyang Wang, Zezhang Wang, Xiaoyi Wang, Ruishi Zhang, Yujia Zhang, Shaojun Zhang, Lin Yang, Siyi Zhu, Chengqi He
Abstract
Structured exercise programs delivered via telemedicine have the potential to benefit patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP). However, evidence-practice gaps exist, such as low exercise adherence and lack of attention to the mental health of CLBP, so further research is needed to investigate the impact of telemedicine-supported structured exercise program on patients with CLBP.
Introduction
Low back pain (LBP) is the leading cause of disability worldwide, defined as pain located between the lower edge of the ribs and the gluteal crease, with or without leg pain. Approximately 80% of the population will experience LBP at least once in their lifetime.
Materials and methods
This is a randomized controlled trial with two parallel arms, conducted in an open-label, difference-test manner, following a 1:1 allocation ratio, within a single-center over a span of 8 weeks. The trial follows the CONSORT guidelines (accessible in S3 File. CONSORT-2010-Checklist) [22].
Results
Eligibility screening was conducted for 104 participants, resulting in 22 ineligible, 2 who declined participation, and 2 exclusions. A total of 78 participants were randomly assigned to either the telemedicine-based exercise therapy group (EG) or the usual care therapy group (CG), with 39 participants in each group.
Discussion
In this study, significant improvements were observed in both groups regarding disability, pain intensity, mental health status, quality of life, and walking ability before and after the intervention. Statistically significant differences between the groups were found in disability, pain, and the physical health dimensions of quality of life.
Conclusions
This study indicates that a structured telemedicine-based exercise program enhances recovery in CLBP patients to a greater extent than usual care therapy in terms of disability, pain, and the physical health dimensions of quality of life.
Citation: Feng Y, Zhu C, Liu H, Bao T, Wang C, Wang Z, et al. (2025) Effect of telemedicine-supported structured exercise program in patients with chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial. PLoS One 20(6): e0326218. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0326218
Editor: Fatih Özden, Mugla Sitki Kocman Universitesi, TÜRKIYE
Received: December 25, 2024; Accepted: May 15, 2025; Published: June 25, 2025
Copyright: © 2025 Feng et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Data Availability: All dataset files are available from the Dryad repository at https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.zpc866tkh.
Funding: This study was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Sichuan Province (2024NSFSC0533 to ZSY); National Natural Science Foundation of China (82272599 to HCQ); Sichuan University "Research Special Project on the Comprehensive Reform of Innovative Educational Practices Enabled by Artificial Intelligence" (2024-44 to ZSY); 1.3.5 project for disciplines of excellence, West China Hospital, Sichuan University (ZYGD23014 to HCQ); "Qimingxing" Research Fund for Young Talents of West China Hospital (HXQMX0113 to ZSY); Sichuan University West China School of Medicine Graduate Education Reform Project (HXYJS202415 to ZSY); and Science and Technology Bureau of Deyang City (Deyang Clinical Research Center for Rehabilitation Medicine, Mianzhu People's Hospital) (2023-64 to ZSJ). The funders played no role in the design, conduct, or reporting of this study.
Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
