Are patient expectations associated with treatment outcomes in individuals with chronic low back pain? A systematic review of randomised controlled trials.

Aim: The importance of patient expectations (PEs) on treatment outcomes is poorly understood in clinical practice. The aim of this review is to investigate the evidence behind association between pre-treatment PEs and treatment outcomes such as pain intensity (PI), level of function (LF) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP).

Methods: A systematic search was conducted for randomised controlled trials published between 1946 and May 2019 across major databases using the key MeSH terminologies.