The Effect of Exercise Therapy on Pain, Muscle Function and Radiological Evaluation in a Female Youth Golf Player with Low Back Pain: Case Report

Abstract

| Abstract |1 ) PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of exercise therapy on low back pain (LBP), the function of paraspinal and abdominis muscles, and the sacrohorizontal angle as seen on the radiographs of the lumbar spine in a young female golf player with LBP. METHODS: This case report describes an 11-year-old female golfer who presented with LBP. The exercise therapy program comprised lumbar joint mobilization, lumbar spine flexion distraction, abdominal bridge, plank, side plank, and single-leg extensions from a 4-point kneeling position for 40 min/day; this was done twice a week for 8-weeks. LBP [visual analog scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI)] and †Corresponding Author : Ho-Seong Lee hoseh28@dankook.ac.kr, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5779-1080 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. function of paraspinal and abdominis muscles [Ito test, curl-up test, 90° stop test, squat test, opened eye one leg stance test (OEOL), and closed eye one leg stance test (CEOL)] were measured before and after 4 and 8 weeks of exercise therapy. The radiographs were analyzed for the lumbar Cobb's angle and sacrohorizontal angle before and after 8 weeks of exercise therapy. RESULTS: After 4 and/or 8 weeks of exercise therapy, VAS and ODI scores decreased; results for the Ito test, curl-up test, 90° stop test, squat test, and OEOL and CEOL of muscle function improved; and the lumbar Cobb's angle and sacrohorizontal angle improved. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that exercise therapy improves LBP, muscle function, and radiographic parameters associated with LBP in young golf players. These findings have clinical implications for exercise therapy in young female golf players who have LBP.