Home Exercise Adherence in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Three-Month Follow-Up
Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Corresponding Author: Fernandes L, Doctus Journal of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation.
Abstract
Home exercise is the mainstay of chronic low back pain management, and its effect depends entirely on adherence that is rarely measured. We tracked 74 patients for three months using a simple logbook verified by fortnightly telephone contact. Full adherence fell from 78% in week two to 31% by week twelve. Decline was steepest immediately after symptom improvement, not after failure to improve. Patients given a three-exercise programme adhered substantially better than those given six or more. Prescribing fewer exercises and explicitly warning that improvement is not a reason to stop are two changes available at no cost.
Keywords
Low Back Pain; Exercise Adherence; Home Programme; Self-Management; Follow-Up; Physiotherapy
How to Cite
Fernandes L and Thomas J. “Home Exercise Adherence in Chronic Low Back Pain: A Three-Month Follow-Up”. Doctus Journal of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation 1.1 (2026): 39-45.
Copyright and Licence
© 2026 Fernandes L. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.