Physiotherapy rehabilitation in chronic low back pain.
La Clinica terapeutica · PMID 42664123
HRD Claim Ledger · Living evidence brief
Does massage help lower-back pain?
May help short-term symptoms
Massage may reduce pain and improve function for some people with nonspecific lower-back pain, particularly in the short term. Effects vary by technique, treatment schedule, comparator and whether massage is combined with exercise or usual care. Evidence does not establish one best protocol or a durable benefit for everyone.
01
Evidence profile
What the evidence can—and cannot—support
Human evidenceSubstantial
Randomized evidenceModerate
ConsistencyMixed to favorable
ReplicationMultiple groups
DirectnessHigh
Long-term outcomesLimited
Important uncertainty
Back pain has many causes, and trials use different massage techniques and comparators.
02
Research Receipt
An auditable count, not “studies show”
Claim checkedMassage therapy reduces lower-back pain.
Dataset edition2026-09-18
6matched publications
4randomized trials
0reviews / meta-analyses
2registered trials
0active trials
Reproduce this receipt
Included: Records in the Massage therapy topic whose high-signal metadata contains at least one outcome term below.
Outcome expression: "low back" OR "lower back" OR "lumbar" OR "back pain"
Excluded: Records outside the intervention topic, animal-only records rejected by the source query, and records without an outcome-term match. This is a reproducible index, not a systematic review.
Download receipt JSONMatched publications
Why these records count
Each record matched the intervention topic and at least one claim-specific outcome term. Open a record for source metadata and inclusion provenance.
Quantitative ultrasound evaluation of the thoracolumbar fascia after manual and acupuncture therapies: an exploratory mechanistic randomized controlled trial with a sequential within-subject phase.
European radiology experimental · PMID 42319630
Clinical Efficacy Evaluation of Tuina Combined Medicated Oil in the Treatment of Nonspecific Low Back Pain: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial.
JMIR research protocols · PMID 41812150
Assessing the impact of massage and herbal therapies on chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Journal of complementary & integrative medicine · PMID 41277745
Effects of percussive massage therapy on fascia echo intensity and fascia thickness in firefighters with chronic non-specific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.
BMC complementary medicine and therapies · PMID 39516833
Effects of different treatments on pain, functional disability, position sense and range of motion in elite bodybuilders with chronic low back pain.
Scientific reports · PMID 38649771
Trial Radar
Evidence that may change the answer
Registration is not a result. Status and dates come from ClinicalTrials.gov.
Massage and Electroacupuncture in Chronic Lumbar Pain
NCT04108546 · Enrollment: 110
Evaluation of The Immediate Effect of Myofascial Release Application in Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain
NCT05302882 · Enrollment: 40
Cite this page
Make the evidence trail portable.
Health Research Database. “Does massage help lower-back pain?” HRD Claim Ledger. Dataset 2026-09-18. Accessed 2026-09-18.
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