Cognitive Functional Therapy for Chronic Low Back Pain

One hundred and forty eight patients with chronic low back pain from two outpatient physiotherapy clinics in Brazil will be randomized to receive either Cognitive Functional Therapy or combined Manual Therapy and Motor Control Exercises. Intervention: 4-10 sessions of CFT. Control: 4-10 sessions of combined Manual Therapy and Motor Control Exercises. Measurements: Clinical outcomes will be assessed at the baseline, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after randomization. Analysis: Intention-to-treat analysis will be performed, and linear mixed models will be calculated to evaluate the effect of the intervention. Non-specific predictors, moderators and mediators of outcome will also be analysed. Discussion: This study will investigate whether the results of the first CFT clinical trial can be replicated. In addition, the results will contribute to a better understanding of the efficacy of the CFT approach.