Efficiency of Muscle Energy Techniques

Bulent Ecevit University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Mechanical Low Back Pain

Treatments: Other: conventional physical therapy and rehabilitation; Other: Muscle Energy Technique

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05573594

PIR

Details and patient eligibility

About

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the efficiency of the Muscle Energy Technique in female patients with mechanical low back pain.

Methods: A total of 40 female participants aged 30-45 were randomly divided into two groups (Study Group and Control Group). Control group participants were under 10 sessions conventional physical therapy and rehabilitation (TENS, US, hot pack) and performed standard home exercises. Study Group participants were under 8 sessions muscle energy technique in addition to conventional physical therapy and standard home exercises. Pain (Visual Analog Scale-VAS), spinal mobility (Modify Schober Test-MST), flexibility (Fingertip Floor Distance-FFD, Right and Left Lateral Flexion Floor Distance-LFFD), quality of life (Nottingham Health Profile-NHP), disability (Oswestry Disability Index-ODI), kinesiofobia (Tampa Kinesiofobia Scale-TKS) and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory-BDI) were measured at baseline, after the treatment and 3th months.

Full description

There are many epidemiological and statistical studies showing the high incidence and prevalence of low back pain, which is a common problem all over the world (Manga et al 1993). Mechanical causes constitute 90% of the factors that cause low back pain (Diamond and Borenstein 2006).

Mechanical Low Back Pain (MLBP) is musculoskeletal pain of soft tissue origin that can be seen in the posterior lumbal region, sacral region or paraspinal region. MLBP, which is characterized by tendonitis, trigger points and muscle spasms, increases with movement and decreases with rest.

Muscle Energy Technique (MET) is a manual therapeutic procedure that creates voluntary contractions in skeletal muscles by creating force against the practitioner by the patient. MET is used to lengthen shortened muscles, mobilize restricted joints, and strengthen physiologically weakened muscles (Chaitow 2013).

Treatment methods generally applied to patients diagnosed with MLBP; physical therapy modalities, manual techniques, exercise therapy, medical therapy, psychological therapy and patient education. It is recommended that MET be used to reduce pain when administered to the spine (Wilson 2003) or muscles (Ballantyne et al. 2003).

The aim of our study is to investigate the efficiency of Muscle Energy Technique on spinal mobility, flexibility, pain, disability, fear avoidance behavior, quality of life and depressive symptoms in female patients with mechanical low back pain.

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 30 to 45 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• being a volunteer female between the ages of 30 and 45
• having a complaint of low back pain for at least 3 months with the diagnosis of mechanical low back pain

Exclusion criteria

• having previous spinal surgery
• having radicular type low back pain
• having neuromuscular disease

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

40 participants in 2 patient groups

MET Group

Experimental group

Description:

the participants in the study group were under 8 sessions of MET, 2 times a week, in addition to the conventional physiotherapy program. In the content of conventional physiotherapy program for both groups; Hot Pack (20 min), Ultrasound (ITO brand 1 MHz and 1.5 W/cm2, 5 min), Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS, 50-100 Hz, 20 min) and standard home exercises were included. The program went 5 times a week, 10 consecutive sessions. Each session lasted an average of 45 minutes.

Treatment:

Other: Muscle Energy Technique

Other: conventional physical therapy and rehabilitation

Control Group

Experimental group

Description:

In this study, the participants in the control group were under conventional physiotherapy program for 5 times a week, a total of 10 sessions In the content of conventional physiotherapy program for both groups; Hot Pack (20 min), Ultrasound (ITO brand 1 MHz and 1.5 W/cm2, 5 min), Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS, 50-100 Hz, 20 min) and standard home exercises were included. The program went 5 times a week, 10 consecutive sessions. Each session lasted an average of 45 minutes

Treatment:

Other: conventional physical therapy and rehabilitation