Improvement in low back movement control, decreased pain and disability, resulting from specific exercise intervention
Open Access
- 23 April 2010
- journal article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Vol. 2 (1), 1-7
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1758-2555-2-11
Abstract
Background The study was conducted to assess whether patient-specific functional impairment and experienced daily disability improved after treatment to address active movement control of the low back. Method A prospective study was carried out in two outpatient physiotherapy practices in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. 38 patients (17 males and 21 females) suffering from non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) and movement control impairment were treated. The study participants had an average age of 45 ± 13 years, an average height of 170 ± 8 cm and an average weight of 73 ± 15 kg. Patients were assessed prior and post treatment. Treatment was aimed at improving movement control of the lumbar spine, pain and disability. Six physiotherapists treated each patient on average nine times (SD 4.6). Treatment effects were evaluated using a set of six movement control tests (MCT), patient-specific functional pain scores (PSFS) and a Roland and Morris disability questionnaire (RMQ). Means, standard deviations, confidence intervals and paired t-tests were calculated. The effect size (d) was based on the change between t1 (time prior intervention) and t2 (time post intervention) using a significance level of p < 0.05, with d > 0.8 being considered a large effect. Power calculations were performed for type I & II error estimation. Results Movement control (MCT) showed a 59% improvement from 3.2 (max 6) to 1.3 positive tests (d = 1.3, p < 0.001), complaints (PSFS) decreased 41% from 5.9 points (max 10) to 3.5 (d = 1.3, p < 0.001), and disability (RMQ) decreased 43% from 8.9 to 5.1 points (d = 1.0, p < 0.001). Conclusions The results of this controlled case series study, based on prior and post intervention, showed that movement control, patient specific functional complaints and disability improved significantly following specific individual exercise programs, performed with physiotherapeutic intervention. The results obtained warrant performance of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to substantiate our findings.Keywords
This publication has 51 references indexed in Scilit:
- Inter-examiner reliability of a classification system for patients with non-specific low back painManual Therapy, 2009
- Movement control tests of the low back; evaluation of the difference between patients with low back pain and healthy controlsBMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2008
- Reliability of movement control tests in the lumbar spineBMC Musculoskeletal Disorders, 2007
- Chapter 4 European guidelines for the management of chronic nonspecific low back painEuropean Spine Journal, 2006
- Intra-tester reliability of two clinical tests of transversus abdominis muscle recruitmentPhysiotherapy Research International, 2006
- The inter-examiner reliability of a classification method for non-specific chronic low back pain patients with motor control impairmentManual Therapy, 2006
- Advances in the Field of Low Back Pain in Primary CareSpine, 2002
- Fear-avoidance and its consequences in chronic musculoskeletal pain: a state of the artPain, 2000
- Assessing Disability and Change on Individual Patients: A Report of a Patient Specific MeasurePhysiotherapy Canada, 1995
- A Study of the Natural History of Back PainSpine, 1983