Aquatic and Land Exercises for Chronic Low Back Pain (AquaLand-CLBP)

University of Edinburgh

Status: Completed

Conditions: Chronic Low Back Pain (Non-specific, Uncomplicated)

Treatments: Other: Aquatic Exercises; Other: Land Exercises

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06874881

NARS01072024

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study aims to learn about the effects of aquatic and land exercises on managing chronic low back pain in adults aged 18-65. The participants engage in a 12-week supervised land and water-based exercise program.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

• How effective are aquatic exercises on low back pain, functional disability, Kinesiophobia, sleep quality, and overall quality of life?
• Is aquatic therapy more effective than land exercises for treating LBP or vice versa?

Enrollment: 32 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Age between 18 and 65
• Both Genders
• Literate in the English language to understand instructions/ to complete a self-report questionnaire.
• Having non-specific Chronic low back pain (≥12 weeks)
• Patient willingness to be a part of any randomly selected treatment groups.

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnant Females
• If they had low back pain as the result of diagnosis of severe osteoporosis, spinal bone disorders such as spondylosis and spondylolisthesis, fractures, lumbar spine stenosis, lower limb joint replacement surgery, hip orthosis, ankylosing spondylitis, rheumatoid arthritis, infective or inflammatory disease, compression of the radial nerve, meningitis, arthrosis, lumbar region tumours, Leg length discrepancy, previous back surgery.
• Uncontrolled hypertension, Severe postural hypotension, any heart disease like Left heart failure or exercise-induced angina. Medical illnesses without a medical managing plan in place, e.g., uncontrolled epilepsy, diabetes mellitus. Neurologic deficit, open wounds, current or recurrent radiation treatment.
• Patients with severe depression and psychosis
• People who are already participating in an individually-prescribed exercise programme for LBP.

Aquatic exercises /Pool specific:

• Individuals with hydrophobia/ water-related anxiety, or inability to adapt to an aquatic environment.
• Allergy to chlorine, Severe limiting airway disease
• Faecal or urinary incontinence, diarrhoea, and vomiting.
• Weight more than the emergency evacuation manual handling risk assessment.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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32 participants in 2 patient groups

Aquatic Exercise Group

Experimental group

Description:

The aquatic exercise session is approximately 45-60 minutes, thrice a week, for twelve weeks, 36 sessions total. They are supervised by an experienced researcher who is a qualified Physiotherapist. The one-hour session generally includes a warm-up, the main exercise session, and a cool-down period. The exercises include balance and agility training, cardio exercises, flexibility, upper and lower limb stretching and strengthening exercises, trunk rotations, etc. Additionally, the group receives back care education involving guidelines and recommendations for adopting good posture, self-management, and active lifestyle advice each week of the intervention. Also, the participants are given a participant education handbook containing all the information and resources about LBP.

Treatment:

Other: Aquatic Exercises

Land Exercise Group

Active Comparator group

Description:

The land exercise group will follow the same structured protocol as the aquatic exercise group regarding duration, frequency, and intensity.

Treatment:

Other: Land Exercises