Starting pain and anxiety were linked to exercise response in eldercare workers
A secondary trial analysis explored why some participants reached a pain-improvement threshold after supervised exercise and others did not.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Among eldercare workers taking part in the exercise programme, higher starting pain and lower anxiety were associated with meeting the study's pain-response threshold. This was an analysis of predictors, so it does not show that anxiety caused poorer improvement, that reducing anxiety would improve exercise response, or who should be offered exercise.
The sample was small, and many candidate predictors were examined. The abstract does not report validation in a separate sample, so its findings cannot establish a reliable rule for selecting treatment.
What researchers found
Participants meeting the pain-response threshold
At 12 weeks, response meant pain falling ≥2 points from baseline on a 0–10 rating scale.
How response was studied
Participants took part in supervised exercise delivered by videoconference. The analysis compared people who reached the predefined pain-reduction threshold with those who did not, then examined selected baseline characteristics together in a regression model.
Which predictors remained
Higher starting pain and lower anxiety remained predictors in the regression analysis. Medication use passed the study's threshold for further analysis, but the abstract did not report it as an independent predictor or test medication changes.
The original publication
Predictors of response to physical exercise for low back pain: a secondary analysis of the ReViEEW trial.
Espin A, Rodriguez-Larrad A, Ruiz-Fernández A et al.
Musculoskelet Sci Pract · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41353795
- Record checked
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