Pain clinic #9. Physical exercise in the treatment of low back pain. Part I: A review.

Physical exercise has been advocated as therapeutic in the treatment of low back pain as far back as 1937, when Williams proposed his now famous flexion exercises. Its current widespread use invites two questions: 1) what evidence is there to support this claim, and 2) which exercises have been proven beneficial? In this first paper of a three-part series, the literature is examined for answers to these questions. Subsequent articles will present practical clinical regimens of both stretching and strengthening exercises.