Changes in Pain Severity, Functional Disability, Psychological Well-Being, and Anxiety Following an 8-Week Physiotherapy-Based Exercise Programme in Adults with Chronic Low Back Pain: A Single-Group Pre-Post Study

Feroza Nawaz; Komal Mahboob; Rahat Iram; Muhammad Aqib; Hafiz Farhad Sohail

doi:10.71317/jgst.2.9(s2).2026.627

Authors

Dr. Feroza Nawaz Head of Physiotherapy Department; Deputy Medical Superintendent, OPD, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan Author
Komal Mahboob MS Clinical Psychology; Lecturer, Department of Psychology, Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat, Pakistan Author
Rahat Iram MS Scholar, Department of Clinical Psychology, Riphah International University, Lahore, Pakistan Author
Muhammad Aqib Physiotherapist, Enable Ireland Disability Services, Dublin, Ireland Author
Hafiz Farhad Sohail MSK Physiotherapist, Pure Unit Health Group, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.71317/jgst.2.9(s2).2026.627

Keywords:

chronic low back pain, exercise therapy, physiotherapy, functional disability, psychological well-being, anxiety

Abstract

Chronic low back pain is a leading cause of disability worldwide and frequently co-occurs with anxiety and reduced psychological well-being, yet physiotherapy outcome assessment often focuses on pain and function alone. This study examined changes in pain severity, functional disability, psychological well-being, and anxiety symptoms among adults with chronic low back pain following an 8-week physiotherapy-based exercise programme. A single-group pre-post design was used with 50 adults aged 30 to 62 years who had experienced low back pain for at least three months. Participants attended supervised sessions three times weekly, each lasting 45 to 60 minutes, comprising core stabilization, strengthening, flexibility, postural correction, functional mobility exercises, and home-exercise education. Pain severity was assessed with the Numeric Pain Rating Scale, functional disability with the Oswestry Disability Index, psychological well-being with the WHO-5 Well-Being Index, and anxiety symptoms with the anxiety subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21. Paired-samples t-tests and within-subject effect sizes were used to compare baseline and post-intervention scores. Statistically significant improvements were observed on all four outcomes, with large effects for pain severity and functional disability and moderate effects for psychological well-being and anxiety symptoms. However, the mean changes in pain and disability did not consistently reach commonly proposed thresholds for clinically important change. Participation in the programme was therefore associated with favourable change across physical and psychological domains, although the absence of a control group precludes causal attribution. Randomised controlled trials with larger samples and longer follow-up are needed to establish effectiveness and durability.