A randomized controlled trial over a 10-week period with a two-year follow-up. The objectives were to compare effects of manual therapy in addition to the stay-active concept versus the stay-active concept only in low back pain patients recruited from primary health care. 160 outpatients with acute or subacute low back pain with or without pain radiation into the legs (70 women, 90 men, ages 20-55 years) were recruited from a geographically defined area and randomly allocated to stay-active care with or without muscle stretching, or to manual therapy with or without specific corticosteroid injections in addition to the stay-active concept. Pain, disability rating index, and sickness absence measures were used as outcome at 10-week follow-up and sickness absence was measured at two-year follow-up.