COMPARISON OF THREE EXERCISE THERAPIES FOR RECREATIONAL RUNNERS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN

Authors

  • Congcong Cai
  • Yifan Yang
  • Pui Wah Kong

Keywords:

knee extensor, lumbar multifidus, lower limb, patient specific functional scale

Abstract

The prevalence of low back pain (LBP) in among recreational runners is high. A singleblinded (outcome assessor blinded) randomized trial was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel therapy using lower limb (LL) exercises, in comparison with 2 conventional therapies [(lumbar extensor (LE) exercises and lumbar stabilization (LS) exercises], in managing chronic LBP in recreational runners. Eighty-four runners, assigned to 1 of the 3 exercise groups, completed 8 weeks of exercise therapy. The findings revealed that LL exercise therapy was superior to the 2 conventional exercise therapies in improving running functional outcome and knee extension strength, and was equally effective in improving lumbar multifidus activation. Thus, the novel LL exercise therapy is recommended for clinical management of chronic LBP in recreational runners.

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Published

2016-11-06