Introduction: Chronic lower back pain is one of the leading causes of activity limitation in the general population worldwide. It leads to a reduced lower quality of life, lifestyle changes, prolonged absenteeism from work and, consequently, to negative socio-economic effects. Therapeutic exercise represents one of the most important components for the treatment of lower back pain. Although evidence suggests that therapeutic exercise is relatively effective, not enough is known on which type of therapeutic exercise seems to be the most effective. Purpose: To analyse the effects of therapeutic exercise on pain reduction in people with chronic lower back pain. Methods: A literature search was performed in PubMed. Results: Nine randomised controlled trials with PEDro scores ranging from 5 and 8 were analysed. The studies included a total of 717 participants. A visual analogue scale was the most commonly used to assess pain intensity, followed by a numerical scale. The studies compared therapeutic exercise with other types of exercise, placebo, inactivity or a general treatment of chronic lower back pain. In the eight studies analysed, pain intensity was lower after the intervention in comparison with the pre-intervention measurement. In the experimental groups, pain was reduced by a maximum of 13.2 and a minimum of 4.7 on a 101-point scale. In the experimental groups, pain decreased by a maximum of 4.7 and a minimum of 0.9 on a 11-point scale. In the control groups, pain decreased by a maximum of 14.0 and a minimum of 8.5 on the 101-point scale. However, in one study pain increased by 3.5. In the control groups, pain decreased by a maximum of 2.81 and a minimum of 0.1 on the 11-point scale. Statistically significant reductions in pain were reported in four studies, with p-values ranging from 0.04 to 0.001. Discussion and Conclusion: Therapeutic exercise represents a relatively effective approach for the treatment of chronic lower back pain. It has been shown to be an effective option for short-term pain reduction immediately after the intervention. Given that long-term effects were significantly lower, we can assume that therapeutic exercise over a longer period of time is required to manage chronic lower back pain.
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