Predictive Validity of Lumbopelvic Stress Tests to Determine Those Who Will Benefit From Lumbar Traction: A Pilot Study

Texas Woman's University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Low Back Pain

Treatments: Other: Lumbar traction

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03127410

19399

Details and patient eligibility

About

The objective in this study is to determine the predictive validity of a set of special clinical tests in identifying those who will respond to lumbar traction

Full description

The objective in this study is to determine the predictive validity of a set of special clinical tests in identifying those who will respond to lumbar traction. The central hypothesis of this pilot study is that a cluster of lumbopelvic stress tests will be able to identify a subgroup of patients with low back pain who will respond favorably to mechanical lumbar traction. If these clinical tests can identify a subgroup of patients with low back pain who respond favorably to lumbar traction, additional studies, including randomized clinical trials will be necessary to further test and validate the use of this cluster of clinical tests. The rationale for this research is to examine the connection between provocative lumbar compression testing and lumbar traction as a means of decompression

Enrollment: 40 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Complaints of low back pain with or without pain into the lower extremities
• Pain of at least 2/10 according to the Numeric Pain Rating Scale
• Score of at least 20 or greater on the Oswestry Disability Index

Exclusion criteria

• Medical red flags consistent with non-mechanical back pain (i.e. recent weight loss, history of cancer, night sweats, fever)
• Previous surgery to the lumbar spine
• Current pregnancy
• Any neurological symptoms in the lower extremities
• Evidence of central nervous system involvement
• The inability to lie prone for 15 minutes

Trial design

Primary purpose: Diagnostic

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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40 participants in 1 patient group

Traction

Experimental group

Description:

Intermittent lumbar traction will be performed in the prone position for 3 x 15-minute sessions at 40% of the participants body weight and will be adjusted based on the participants response.

Treatment:

Other: Lumbar traction