Background: Chronic low back pain is one of the most common health problems in the developed world. Physical activity is the most common treatment method. Graded activity is a form of physical activity that consists of a graded exercise programme and behavioural principles. The purpose of the study was to systematically review articles that studied the effectiveness of graded activity protocol in chronic low back pain treatment. Methods: An electronic databases search (PEDro, PubMed, CINAHL and Cochrane) in Slovenian, Italian and English, published between 2004 and 2015 was conducted. Results: Seven articles were included in the analysis. Patients in all treatment groups reported a reduction of pain and disability, lower levels of kinesiophobia and fewer days of absence from work. Conclusions: Results showed that graded activity protocol is not more effective than other forms of treatment in reduction of pain and disability, but more effective in the reduction of kinesiophobia. Patients that followed a graded activity protocol also reported fewer days off work. Graded activity protocol should be considered in chronic low back pain treatment protocols.
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