Effects of an eight-week lumbar stabilization exercise programme on selected variables of patients with chronic low back pain

Abstract

Background: Lumbar stabilisation exercise has been shown to reduce pain and disability in patients with low back pain but information on its potential benefits in term of back muscle endurance is scarce.
 Objective: This study was aimed at investigating the effects of augmenting conventional physiotherapy with lumbar stabilization exercises on selected variables of patients with non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP).
 Methods: Forty individuals with NSCLBP aged 20-60 years were assigned to one of experimental or control groups (20 in each). The experimental group had lumbar stabilisation exercises in addition to conventional therapy (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator and infrared) which was the only treatment for the control group. Both groups were treated thrice weekly. Participants’ pain intensity, disability index, kinesiophobia level and back muscle endurance were evaluated at baseline and after 8 weeks.
 Results: There was significant reduction in pain intensity (experimental: 6.74±1.37; 3.48±1.09; control: 6.57±1.40; 2.96±1.13) and disability index (experimental: 46.60±16.67; 26.55±14.78; control: 32.10±16.16; 24.60±15.27) and increase in back muscle endurance (experimental: 11.05±8.39; 14.30±19.24s; control: 10.85±9.79; 13.90±11.63s) for both groups. Experimental group had significantly greater reduction (p < 0.05) in disability index than the controls (p = 0.048).
 Conclusion: Augmenting conventional physiotherapy with lumbar stabilisation exercises achieved better reduction in disability than conventional therapy alone in patients with NSCLBP.
 Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.19(3) 2020 p.467-474

Efficacy of Core Stability in Non-Specific Chronic Low Back Pain

“…Nine of forty-nine selected articles compare core stability with minimal or no intervention [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

“…In particular, the effects on the following outcomes were compared: pain [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 22 , 23 , 24 ], disability [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 26 ], quality of life [ 21 , 25 ], muscle thickness [ 20 , 21 , 26 , 27 , 28 ], and muscle strength [ 22 , 24 , 25 ].…”

“…In three articles, the reduction of pain was statistically greater in the core stability group, compared with minimal or no intervention [ 20 , 21 , 24 ]. In four articles, core stability was more effective in reducing disability [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 26 ].…”

“…In all studies, core stability was more effective in improving quality of life [ 21 , 25 ], muscular thickness (in particular transversus abdominus, multifidus, obliquus abdominis, and gluteus maximus) [ 20 , 21 , 26 , 27 , 28 ], and lumbar muscular strength [ 22 , 24 , 25 ].…”

Design and Implementation of an Intelligent Analgesic Bracelet Based on Wrist-ankle Acupuncture

“…However, it is limited by its cost, patient scheduling difficulties, and invasive therapy. During this period, great efforts have been made to realize an effective analgesia system combined with the noninvasive technique, such as Han's acupoint nerve stimulator (HANS) [13], the 64-independent channel stimulator (ShefStim-SBS) [14], and the transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulator (DX66053) [15]. These devices are based on TENS and have shown significant efficacy in controlling postoperative pain after various procedures, including cardiac surgeries [16], cholecystectomy [17], cesarean section [18], liposuction [19], total knee arthroplasty [20], and thoracotomy [21].…”