BACKGROUND: Although there are many special exercise-based therapy approaches for the working population suffering chronic low back pain, similar programmes for older individuals are rare. OBJECTIVES: To summarise all evaluated physical therapy approaches, and assess the effects on older people with chronic low back pain. DATA SOURCES: Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane, Embase, PEDro, PsycINFO and Psyndex. STUDY SELECTION/ELIGIBILITY: Age >= 65 years, subacute or chronic non-specific low back pain of >= 6 weeks' duration, and a physical therapy approach. STUDY APPRAISAL AND SYNTHESIS METHODS: Study selection, data extraction, and assessment of methodological quality and clinical relevance were performed independently by two reviewers. As there were only a few controlled trials and wide heterogeneity in observation periods and outcome measures, pooling of data was not feasible. Therefore, the results are presented descriptively. RESULTS: In total, nine studies were included; six related to mixed physiotherapy modalities, one related to strength training, and two related to endurance training. Low-quality evidence suggests that physical therapy modalities are associated with a small-to-moderate reduction in pain and a small improvement in function. LIMITATIONS: The results must be interpreted with caution due to poor methodological quality. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS OF KEY FINDINGS: Few studies have been performed in this highly relevant and growing age group. It is not possible to recommend one particular modality or programme; as such, prescriptions should reflect patients' preferences and local conditions. Further research of higher methodological quality is needed urgently.

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