Aerobic Exercise May Be a Feasible Therapeutic Option for Improving Pain and Function in Patients With Chronic Lumbar Radicular Pain: A Case Series.

BACKGROUND: Current first-line strategies to treat patients with lumbar radicular pain have limited benefits. Despite promising results in preclinical investigations, clinical studies investigating the effects of aerobic exercise (AE) is surprisingly scarce. CASE PRESENTATION: Five patients with chronic lumbar radicular pain were included in this case series. AE was implemented into their pragmatic multicomponent tele-rehabilitation plan. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Patients were assessed before and after the tele-rehabilitation program through patient-reported outcome measures. Adherence rate and adverse events were collected at every session. AE proved to be safe and feasible. Patient-reported levels of pain and disability showed large clinically meaningful changes. DISCUSSION: AE might be considered as a feasible and potentially effective adjunct to improve pain and disability of patients with lumbar painful radiculopathy. Considering preclinical evidence and the safety/feasibility profile in patients, it might be useful to further investigate the potential benefits of AE in people with lumbar radicular pain. JOSPT Cases 2025;5(4):206-211. Epub 7 October 2025. doi:10.2519/josptcases.2025.0171 ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR