Effectiveness and acceptability of a swimming program for low back pain: a randomised controlled trial

This will be the first randomized trial to assess the effectiveness and acceptability of a swimming and education program for chronic low back pain. Results from this study will provide preliminary insights to guide the prescription of swimming for people with low back pain and future trials. The knowledge gained of this trial will also inform a future larger clinical trial investigating the effect of swimming for chronic low back pain. This future trial will provide more statistical power to comment on the effectiveness of the intervention.Seventy participants with chronic low back pain will be recruited from the community and randomised to receive an education and swimming intervention (8-weeks) or education alone. Data collection, including pain intensity and diability, will occur at pre-randomisation, 3 weeks, 8 weeks, 13 weeks, and 26 weeks after randomisation. The primary timepoint will be at 8 weeks post-randomisation.