Contemporary biopsychosocial exercise prescription for chronic low back pain: questioning core stability programs and...

This commentary explores the importance of considering the biopsychosocial model and contextual factors when prescribing exercise. Diverse exercise programs for patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP) produce similar outcomes, without one specific exercise protocol demonstrating clear superiority. One clear barrier to positive outcomes is poor exercise adherence. We suggest that there are certain common contextual factors present in all exercise prescription scenarios that may impact adherence and health-related outcomes. While challenging common core stability exercise prescription, we present an argument for enhancing and intentionally shaping the following contextual factors: the therapeutic alliance, patient education, expectations and attributions of therapeutic success or failure, and mastery or cognitive control over a problem. Overall, this commentary argues that to improve exercise adherence and outcomes in the CLBP population, the context in which exercise is delivered and the meaning patients embody need to be considered and shaped by clinicians.