Low back pain: what five years of research tells us

Low back pain (LBP) remains one of the most common reasons people seek physiotherapy, but the evidence is evolving.

A new research review in the Journal of Physiotherapy brings together five years of research (2020–2025) on how we diagnose and predict outcomes in low back pain. It confirms what many clinicians see in practice: serious spinal pathologies are rare, imaging is often overused, and most LBP does not have a single clear anatomical cause. At the same time, recovery is common, even when pain has lasted longer than expected, and understanding individual prognostic factors can support more person-centred, evidence-based practice.

This research helps physiotherapists navigate uncertainty with confidence, using the best available evidence to guide decisions and conversations with patients.

Read the recent highlights in volume 72 of the Journal of Physiotherapy, available now https://bit.ly/4pxmKGk

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1836955325001456

Where to go from here

If low back pain is what brought you to this page, these are the practical next steps at the studio in St Albans:

• Back pain treatment in St Albans — how we approach it, and who it suits
• Sciatica and referred leg pain
• Back pain from desk work — the most common pattern we see
• Pilates after physiotherapy has finished, and why recovery so often stalls at that point
• Clinical Pilates — what it is, and how it differs from a general class
• Our wider back pain research update

Not sure which applies to you? Every client starts with a one-to-one £85 movement assessment, or you can try the two-minute movement self-check first.