Comparative Study of Physiotherapy Modalities and Exercise in Low Back Pain

Objectives: Comparative study of physiotherapy modalities and exercise in Low back pain. Design: Randomized Control Trial. Methodology: 20 Participants with a history of Chronic low back pain (CLBP) were randomly assigned into 5 groups; control group G1 (n = 4) that receive exercises only and 4 experimental groups (each with n = 4). The experimental groups are G2 (Ultrasound + exercise), G3 (IR + exercise), G4 (TENS with hot pack + exercise), and G5 (vibration massage + exercise). Each participant was treated 3 times weekly, for two weeks and each exercise repeated (10 × 5) along the period of study (2 weeks ). The outcome measures used in this study were the Oswestry Disability Questionnaire (ODQ) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) both of which were scored by all participants. Results: The VAS readings indicated a significant difference at the 1% level (p = 0.003) between the control group and the experimental groups, and showed highly significant in participants that treated with electric stimulation, then TENS with hot bag for 15 min. and followed by stretching and strengthening exercises as compared with the control group that received only the exercises. Also, ODQ readings showed significant difference (p = 0.123) between the control and treated groups. Results showed an improvement across experimental groups in pain and disability scores. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that TENS and hot pack with exercises have a better effect on improving pain and disability in participants suffering from CLBP. Interestingly, the control group who had postural re-education did improve as well as the core stability group. Age was not considered to be a factor when allocating participants into 5 groups. However, the younger age group showed marked improvement with posture re-education and exercise.