Motor Control Exercises Versus a General Exercise Program in Patients With Nonspecific Chronic Low Back Pain
Condition: Low Back Pain
MeSH terms: Back Pain; Low Back Pain
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The prevalence of low back pain is approximately 49% to 90%, and that 25% of patients seeking
      treatment for low back pain have a recurrence within the first year. Chronic non-specific low
      back pain is the most common of all types of pain, not being attributed to a specific
      pathological cause and with a minimum pain duration of 12 weeks. Forty percent of subjects
      with acute low back pain will develop chronic low back pain.

      Exercise is recommended for the treatment of chronic low back pain because of significant
      improvements in pain and disability over other therapies, but the evidence is low in the
      treatment of subacute or acute pain, as exercise appears to be equally effective over rest.
      Motor control is based on the contraction of the deep and stabilising muscles of the lumbar
      spine (multifidus and transverse abdominis), performing simple voluntary contraction
      exercises and increasing (without losing this contraction) their difficulty and
      functionality. At the beginning, the patient must be able to maintain the isometric
      contraction of the deep muscles while breathing normally. On the other hand, there is great
      difficulty in voluntarily contracting the multifidus muscles, especially for subjects with
      chronic non-specific low back pain, where arthrogenic inhibition hinders their contraction.
      The application of ultrasound as feedback may help patients to correctly contract this
      musculature.

      Our main objective in the study will be to measure and compare pain, disability, global
      impression of effect, in patients with non-specific mechanical chronic low back pain after
      applying a motor control exercise programme with and without ultrasound feedback.

      In addition, the investigators will compared this type of exercise with a conventional
      exercise programme.
    

Detailed description: 
      A study will be carried out to compare a conventional exercise protocol for the management of
      non-specific chronic low back pain, with another motor control exercise protocol with and
      without ultrasound feedback for its correct learning and execution.

      For the ultrasound feedback, a video will be recorded where the participant will be able to
      see how the core muscles contract when each of the motor control exercises is performed.

      The participants will be divided into three groups. The first group will perform a general
      exercise plan for the lower back. The second group will perform a plan of specific motor
      control exercises aimed at activating the lumbar multifidus and transversus abdominis
      muscles, and the third group will perform a plan of specific motor control exercises aimed at
      activating the lumbar multifidus and transversus abdominis muscles using ultrasound as a
      feedback method.
    

Intervention name(s): Non-specific lumbar exercise group; motor control lumbar exercises; motor control lumbar exercises with ultrasound echography feedack
Intervention type(s): Other; Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Subjects perform a conventional lumbar exercise program twice a week.; Subjects perform a lumbar stabilization exercise program.; Subjects perform a lumbar stabilization exercise program in conjunction with a video where participants can see how the muscles contract.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: Single-blind, randomised clinical trial
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Low Back Pain, exercises, ultrasound echography