Treatment of Chronic Lower Back Pain: Study Protocol of a Comparative Effectiveness Study on Yoga, Eurythmy Therapy, and Physiotherapeutic Exercises

Abstract

Background: We aim to compare the effectiveness of 3 active interventions, i.e., yoga, eurythmy therapy, and physiotherapeutic exercise, on chronic lower back pain. Methods: In this randomized controlled trial over 16 weeks (8 weeks of intervention, 8 weeks of follow-up), data of individuals with chronic lower back pain will be analyzed. Interventions are implemented as group sessions (75 min) once per week. Participants receive a manual for home-based practice and are assessed before and at the end of the 8-week intervention period, and at the end of an 8-week follow-up period. Standardized questionnaires are: the Roland-Morris Disability Score, visual analog scales measuring intensity of pain, the Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale, the Perceived Stress Scale, the Inner Correspondence with the Practices questionnaire, the Freiburg Mindfulness Questionnaire, the General Self-Efficacy Scale, a self-regulation questionnaire, the Internal Coherence Scale, a pain diary (registering the need of analgesic medication), and a questionnaire on the patients' expectation that the interventions will be effective in reducing pain and how strong this reduction might be (2 single items), etc. Discussion: This large multicenter study will provide evidence on the effectiveness of 3 contrasting movement-orientated treatments that share some similarities but differ in essential details: yoga, eurythmy therapy, and physiotherapeutic exercises. It will provide important data on non-pharmacological options to treat lower back pain in a large group of affected individuals.

Comparative Analysis of Pain, Muscle Strength, Disability, and Quality of Life in Middle-Aged and Older Adults After Web Video Lower Back Exercise

“…For a clear identification of the effects of exercise motions, objective physical variables, such as muscle flexibility, muscle strength, and changes in waist circumference, should be evaluated. Both age groups in our study showed significant differences in disability after lower back exercises, confirming previous reports 19 , 27 of exercises significantly reducing disability in patients with low back pain. The Oswestry Disability Index, which was used in our study, accounts for pain, personal hygiene, object lifting, walking, sitting, standing, sex life, social life, and travel.…”

“…This study was conducted to verify the effects of a Web exercise video program for the lower back on the pain, muscle strength, disability, and QOL of middle-aged and older individuals who visited a joint center for chronic low back pain. In this study, when the lower back exercises were performed for 8 weeks, low back pain was significantly relieved in both age groups, thereby supporting previous results 19 – 21 and indicating that exercise intervention for 8 weeks is effective for low back pain relief. Considering the report 12 that a 4-week program has no effects on pain, we inferred that the effects may manifest in the fourth to eighth weeks of exercise.…”

“…Pain, muscle strength, disability, and QOL were measured before the participants started performing the exercises, and data were collected again when the participants visited the hospital 8 weeks after starting the exercise program. The 8-week interval was based on previous results 19 , 20 that lower back exercises are effective when performed for 8 weeks. The measurements were carried out by one research assistant at the same time of the day (14:00-16:00) to reduce measurement errors.…”

Anthroposophic Medicine: A Short Monograph and Narrative Review—Foundations, Essential Characteristics, Scientific Basis, Safety, Effectiveness and Misconceptions

“…162 Another three-armed RCT of the clinical comparative effectiveness of yoga, eurythmy therapy and physical therapy for chronic low back pain has recently been completed and its published results are pending. 163 Of course, there is much other published literature on anthroposophic medicine that also include several modern, rigorously-documented case reports (using published CARE guidelines) and real-world observational studies pointing to its effectiveness. 57,135,164 Prospective Observational Studies in Support of Anthroposophic Medicine and its Related Therapeutic Recommendations Several prospective observational studies on anthroposophic medical practices document the very low use of antibiotics and can likely contribute to an effective approach to reduce antibiotic use more generally and reduce the problem of antibiotic resistance (selection bias cannot be completely ruled out).…”

Eurythmy therapy versus slow movement fitness in the treatment of fatigue in metastatic breast cancer patients: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

“…Eurythmy therapy has specific effects in healthy subjects, such as reducing fatigue [33] and stress [40,41]. Moreover, studies describe a reduction of a range of symptoms [42][43][44][45][46][47][48], as well as improvements in quality of life [40,48] in patients with various chronic diseases and in different target groups (i.e., children, adolescents, adults) [49,50]. As observed with other mind-body therapies [51][52][53][54][55], improvements have also been described in heart rate variability (HRV) parameters (i.e., parameters that measure the adaptability of the autonomic nervous system), as well as in circadian patterns of HRV, after eurythmy therapy training [33,[56][57][58][59].…”