Table 1

Schedule of enrolment, intervention and outcome measures

	Enrolment and allocation		Treatment period			Follow-up period
	Screening	Allocation	Treatment period			Follow-up period
Timepoint	Week −1	Week 0	Week 1	Week 2–5	Week 6	Week 12	Week 26
Enrolment
Inclusion/exclusion criteria	×
Informed consent	×
Medical history	×
Physical examination	×
Baseline characteristics	×
Allocation		×
Intervention
Tuina			×	×	×
CSE			×	×	×
Outcomes
NRS	×				×	×	×
Credibility			×
RMDQ	×				×	×	×
EQ-5D	×				×	×	×
PCS	×				×	×	×
TSK	×				×	×	×
DASS	×				×	×	×
GBRS					×	×	×
Satisfaction					×	×	×
Biomechanical outcomes	×				×
Medication use	×				×	×	×
Healthcare utilisation	×				×	×	×
Absenteeism	×				×	×	×
Adverse events					×
Treatment adherence					×

CSE, core stability exercise; DASS, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale; EQ-5D, EuroQoL-5 dimensions questionnaire; GBRS, Global Back Recovery Scale; NRS, Numeric Rating Scale; PCS, Pain Catastrophizing Scale; RMDQ, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire; TSK, Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia.