Lumbosciatic Syndrome: Vojta Therapy vs. TENS

Universidad Rey Juan Carlos

Status: Completed

Conditions: Functional Limitation; Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation; Pain; Lumbosciatic Syndrome; Vojta Therapy

Treatments: Other: Physiotherapy technique: Vojta Therapy; Other: Physiotherapy technique: TENS

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03034681

280920168216

Details and patient eligibility

About

This pilot "pre-post" quasi-experimental study evaluates for the first time the effectiveness of Vojta Therapy in treating lumbosciatic and compares it with the transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) procedure. Patients who agree will be distributed alternately in order of arrival to a Physiotherapy Unit, in such a way that half of the sample will be treated using TENS and the other half with Vojta.

Full description

Lumbago/lumbosciatic (with or without radicular implication) is the second most frequent cause of primary medical care and the highest cause of disability in the entire world. This pathology is normally slight to moderate in the majority of cases, meaning that the therapeutical treatment tends to be conservative and thus the interest in increasing the range of non-invasive therapeutic possibilities is available.

Reflex Locomotion or Vojta Therapy began being used in 1959 for the rehabilitation of children with motor alterations and infants with a risk of cerebral palsy. Years later it was successfully applied to adults with neurological and motor alteration problems. Until now, there have been no studies on its use in pathologies of the spine and, in particular at a lumbar level.

A pre-/ post-intervention examination will be performed to obtain an objective clinical analysis (measurements of pain, disability, functionality and joint movement), by means of simple questionnaires completed by the patient (VAS scale, Oswestry and Roland-Morris questionnaires) and exploration techniques (Lasègue manoeuvre, Schöber test, fingertips to floor test and walking on heels and toes).

Enrollment: 12 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 100 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Patients diagnosed with acute, sub-acute or chronic lumbosciatic by a rehabilitation doctor were referred by said doctor to the Physiotherapy Unit, as candidates for either of the therapeutical procedures.

Exclusion criteria

• Patients with lumbosciatic resulting from a specific pathology (infection, metastasis, neoplasia, osteoporosis, fracture or inflammatory arthropathy).

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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12 participants in 2 patient groups

Vojta

Other group

Description:

Vojta therapy consists in activating certain overall and innate locomotion patterns or complexes: reflex creeping and reflex rolling, which provokes the contraction of striated muscle in the entire body in a determined coordination with the central nervous system (CNS). These patterns are triggered from different positions (prone, supine and side lying) and only with certain stimulation. They contain all the locomotion components: automatic postural control, uprighting and phase movements. This therapy allows for the changing from pathological patterns to painless and cheaper patterns. This group received 15 sessions of treatment. Treatment lasted 30 minutes per sesion.

Treatment:

Other: Physiotherapy technique: Vojta Therapy

TENS

Active Comparator group

Description:

TENS procedure used at our unit consists in applying a high frequency current (80Hz), which is the most effective way to combat pain, for a phase duration of 60-200 microseconds at a comfortable range. Electrodes are placed on the skin over the sciatic nerve path, the (-) cathode on the most painful area as it is the most stimulating and the (+) another is placed distal. This group received 15 sessions of treatment. Treatment lasted 30 minutes per sesion.

Treatment:

Other: Physiotherapy technique: TENS