Smartphone applications for patients with low back pain: self-management, telerehabilitation, evaluation and data collection. A scoping review (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Technological developments have accelerated notably in the field of telecommunications in the last few decades. Smartphone use has grown in providing healthcare for patients with low back pain (LBP), but the literature lacks an analysis of the use of smartphone apps. OBJECTIVE This scoping review aimed to identify current areas of smartphone app use for managing LBP. We also aimed to evaluate the current status of the effectiveness or scientific validity of such use and determine perspectives for their potential development. METHODS We searched PubMed, PEDro and Embase for articles published up to May 2021 that investigated smartphone use for LBP healthcare and their purpose. RESULTS We included 42 articles: randomised controlled trials (RCTs) (n=12), study protocols (n=6), reliability/validity studies (n=6), systematic reviews (n=7), cohort studies (n=4), qualitative studies (n=5), and case series (n=1). The purposes of the smartphone app were for 1) evaluation, 2) telerehabilitation, 3) self-management, and 4) data collection. Self-management was the most-studied use, showing promising results derived from moderate- to good-quality RCTs for patients with chronic LBP and patients after spinal surgery. Promising results exist regarding evaluation and data collection use and contradictory results regarding measurement use. CONCLUSIONS This scoping review revealed a growing scientific literature regarding the use of smartphone apps for LBP patients. The identified purposes point to current scientific status and perspectives for further studies including RCTs and systematic reviews targeting specific usage. Caution should be taken to monitor the impact of smartphone-related compulsive behavior.