Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2023 Jan 4;24(1):32-51.
doi: 10.1093/pm/pnac099.

Health Coaching for Low Back Pain and Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Joanna Louise Prior  1 , Giovana Vesentini  2 , Jose Antonio Michell De Gregorio  1   3 , Paulo H Ferreira  4 , David J Hunter  1   5 , Manuela L Ferreira  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Health Coaching for Low Back Pain and Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis

Joanna Louise Prior et al. Pain Med. .

Abstract

Background: Health coaching aims to empower people to reach their goals and is increasingly used in health care settings. Whether health coaching improves pain and disability for people with hip or knee osteoarthritis (OA) or low back pain (LBP) is unknown.

Methods: Six databases were searched for randomized controlled trials assessing health coaching or motivational programs in adults with hip or knee OA or LBP, with each condition investigated independently. Meta-analyses were performed with random-effects models in the Cochrane Collaboration Review Manager 5.3 program.

Results: Seventeen eligible studies were found. No studies analyzing hip OA alone were found. Pooled analyses found statistically significant decreases in mid-term pain (mean difference [MD]: -7.57; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -10.08 to -5.07; P < 0.001, I2 = 0%), short-term disability (standard mean difference [SMD]: -0.22; 95% CI: -0.41 to -0.03; P = 0.02, z = 2.32, I2 = 0%), and mid-term disability (SMD: -0.42; 95% CI: -0.75 to -0.09; P = 0.01, z = 2.49, I2 = 60%), favoring the intervention for chronic LBP. There were significant improvements in knee OA long-term functional disability (MD: -3.04; 95% CI: -5.70 to -0.38; P = 0.03; z = 2.24; I2 = 0%).

Conclusion: Meta-analyses provide evidence that health coaching reduces both disability and pain in people with chronic LBP and reduces disability in people with knee OA, though the clinical significance is unknown. There is currently no evidence supporting or refuting the use of health coaching for hip OA.

Keywords: Hip Pain; Knee Pain; Low Back Pain; Osteoarthritis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Consort PRISMA flow chart.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Pooled effect of intervention compared with control for mid-term pain levels for knee OA on numeric rating scale 0–100.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Pooled effect of intervention compared with control for long-term pain levels for knee OA on numeric rating scale 0–100.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Pooled effect of intervention compared with control for short-term pain levels for chronic LBP on numeric rating scale 0–100.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Pooled effect of the intervention compared with control for mid-term pain levels for chronic LBP on numeric rating scale 0–100.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Pooled effect of the intervention compared with control for mid-term functional disability for knee OA.
Figure 7.
Figure 7.
Pooled effect of the intervention compared with control for long-term functional disability for knee OA.
Figure 8.
Figure 8.
Pooled effect of the intervention compared with control for short-term disability for chronic LBP.
Figure 9.
Figure 9.
Pooled effect of the intervention compared with control for mid-term disability for chronic LBP.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Clark S, Horton R.. Low back pain: A major global challenge. Lancet 2018;391(10137):2302. - PubMed
    1. Cross M, Smith E, Hoy D, et al. The global burden of hip and knee osteoarthritis: Estimates from the Global Burden of Disease 2010 Study. Ann Rheum Dis 2014;73(7):1323–30. - PubMed
    1. Hoy DG, Smith E, Cross M, et al. The global burden of musculoskeletal conditions for 2010: An overview of methods. Ann Rheum Dis 2014;73(6):982–9. - PubMed
    1. Kyu HH, Abate D, Abate KH, et al. Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. Lancet 2018;392(10159):1859–8. - PMC - PubMed
    1. MOVE Muscle, Bone & Joint Health and PwC. Everybody MOVE: Improving Outcomes in Musculoskeletal Health. Victoria: MOVE and PwC; 2017.

Publication types