Back pain and massage

Low back pain (LBP) presents a significant burden globally, affecting individuals of all ages, but it is more common in adults aged 30-60 years old and demographics including race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Physiotherapy interventions are commonly employed to manage LBP due to their non-invasive nature and potential for addressing underlying biomechanical dysfunctions. This comprehensive review aims to evaluate the efficacy of various physiotherapy strategies in alleviating LBP, considering a range of interventions and their associated outcomes...

Chronic low back pain, defined as lumbar pain persisting for 12 weeks or more, occurs in about 13% of U.S. adults. Patients with chronic low back pain should have a history and physical examination to identify red flags that may indicate serious conditions that warrant immediate intervention or yellow flags (i.e., psychological, environmental, and social factors) that indicate risk of disability. The examination should include an evaluation for radicular symptoms. Routine imaging is not recommended but is indicated when red flags are present, there is a neuromuscular deficit, or if pain does not resolve with conservative therapy...

INTRODUCTION: Lumbar spondylolysis is the most common underlying cause of lower back pain (LBP) in young athletes. Conservative treatment methods are often used to reduce pain and promote healing. Several parameters may affect the duration of conservative treatment, such as the time to return to play (RTP), patient behavior, and physical parameters; however, no study has comprehensively assessed the factors that affect the time to RTP. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to determine the factors associated with the time required for RTP among young athletes with early-stage spondylolysis receiving conservative treatment using structural equation modeling (SEM)...

Equine Facilitated Physical Therapy (EFPT) lacks consistent documentation due to being an unconventional physical therapy treatment to chronic low back pain patients (LBP) and lacking rehabilitation outcome measure tools for a stable (equestrian) environment. The objectives were to develop an online evaluation tool as well as to define inter- and intra-rater reliability to validate the outcome measurement tool "Evaluation of maintaining sitting position (on a horse) and walking (short distances)" designed for LBP patients in EFPT"...

BACKGROUND: Chronic mechanical low back pain (CMLBP) is one of the most prevalent and costly disorders. Determining its most effective treatment approach is a priority for researchers. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of including aerobic exercise within a conventional therapy regimen for young adults with CMLBP. METHODS: Fifty CMLBP patients (22 males and 28 females) were randomly and equally assigned to one of two groups to receive the prescribed treatment for 8 weeks...

INTRODUCTION: The ability to stand up and sit down is important. Due to the large number of repetitions of these activities during the day and the demand that the task requires, it is cited as painful in the presence of low back pain (LBP). Individuals with LBP present alterations in muscle activation, however, this statement needs to be verified during everyday situations like the sit-to-stand task (STST). Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the muscle recruitment of women with and without LBP during the STST...

BACKGROUND: The literature has suggested a variety of postural changes of the spine that possibly contribute to the increase in back pain during sitting in persons with non-specific chronic low back pain (NS-CLBP). However, the heterogeneity of NS-CLBP persons has made the ability to attribute pain increase to a particular sitting posture very difficult. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare lumbosacral kinematics and their roles in pain increase among homogenous NS-CLBP subgroups and healthy controls over a 1-h sitting period...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Pilates is a commonly recommended exercise modality for the management of persistent low back pain. Whilst guidelines recommend the use of exercise for low back pain, research suggests that no one exercise is superior, creating a question over the mechanism of effect. The patient-practitioner relationship may be important in managing low back pain; however, the relationship between Pilates teachers and clients is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to identify the components of the relationship between Pilates teachers and clients with persistent low back pain, explore key influences on the relationship, and ascertain the nature of the relationship...

OBJECTIVE: To review the effectiveness of different physical therapies for acute and sub-acute low back pain supported by evidence, and create clinical recommendations and expert consensus for physiotherapists on clinical prescriptions. DATA SOURCES: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed and the Cochrane Library for studies published within the previous 15 years. REVIEW METHODS: Systematic review and meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials assessing patients with acute and sub-acute low back pain were included...

BACKGROUND: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is a prevalent condition in spinal surgery, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncture has gained clinical attention as a potential treatment for LDH in recent years. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture combined with acupoint massage in LDH patients. METHODS: We enrolled a total of 135 LDH patients treated at our hospital from May 2021 to February 2023...

BACKGROUND:  Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a common source of pain in primary care or pain clinics. There are many different ways to manage and treat MPS, such as physical exercise, trigger points massage, and dry needling. OBJECTIVE:  The objective of this overview is to highlight and discuss the evidence-based treatment of myofascial pain by dry needling in patients with low back pain. METHODS:  A systematic review was made based on meta-analysis (MA) and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related to dry needling treatment for myofascial pain in patients with lumbar pain, published from 2000 to 2023...

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the utilization of health team practitioners among national-level athletes and report their injury profile as well as access to and knowledge of chiropractic care. METHODS: This study was a retrospective analysis of non-identifiable, cross-sectional survey data that were previously collected from members of the AthletesCAN organization who voluntarily completed a web-based, bilingual survey in July or August 2017...

Occupational back pain has emerged as a significant public health concern. Despite several efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of occupational back pain, this issue still persists across the globe. This systematic review summarizes the preventive and therapeutic options available for managing occupational back pain. A systemic search was carried out in various databases including PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL Ultimate, and Scopus to identify relevant literature. The search was also extended to Google Scholar to identify more relevant studies...

Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) is a very common health problem that has a great negative impact on the quality of life and the psychological well-being of backache patients. Literature findings have shown that a conventional physiotherapeutic approach is a beneficial choice for CLBP management. The aim of this study was to examine the short-term effects of a conservative physical treatment on depression, anxiety, somatic symptom disorders (SSD), quality of life, pain and disability in Greek individuals suffering from CLBP...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Decreased hamstring flexibility has been associated with LBP (lower back pain). Increased tightness or shortening of hamstring muscle may cause pelvis imbalance or tilt and create instability and increase LBP risk. This study was conducted to pinpoint the differences between right and left hamstring length and their association to LBP in Israeli adult and elderly women. METHODS: N = 109 women which were divided into two groups: Adult group, 41 women (aged 45-60) and older group, 68 women (aged 60-75), with LBP that exercise regularly (minimum twice weekly) were selected based on inclusion criteria...

BACKGROUND: The study was carried out in the athletes with and without Low Back Pain (LBP) to determine the surface electromyography activity of core stabilizing muscles while performing isometric shoulder and trunk contractions. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: This study enlisted the participation of 40 athletes. Group A included 20 athletes (18 males and 2 females) without LBP, and Group B included 20 athletes (12 males and 8 females) with LBP...

BACKGROUND: It is common practice for health professionals to recommend swimming to people with low back pain (LBP) despite limited evidence. The aim of this review was to gain an understanding of the current evidence base supporting the recommendation of swimming to people with LBP. METHODS: A scoping review was conducted searching five electronic databases, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PEDro, PubMed, and SPORTdiscus using the keywords back pain AND swim*. The studies were grouped by study design and the following uncertainties were considered; the impact of swimming on the spine and LBP, evidence of swimming increasing or reducing the risk of LBP and the use of swimming in LBP rehabilitation programmes...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Conservative and surgical treatments, are recommended as the primary treatment in the management of patients diagnosed with deep gluteal syndrome; but evidence supporting superiority of one treatment over another is lacking. The aim of this review is to systematically review the effectiveness of treatments. DATABASES AND DATA TREATMENT: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, AMED, Cochrane Library (Central Register of Controlled Trials), and PEDro were screened (to 24 July 2019)...

INTRODUCTION: Core stabilization is a vital concept in clinical rehabilitation (including low back pain rehabilitation) and competitive athletic training. The core comprises of a complex network of hip, trunk and neck muscles including the diaphragm. AIMS: The paper aims to discuss the role of the diaphragm in core stability, summarize current evidence and put forth ideal core training strategies involving the diaphragm. METHOD: Narrative review RESULTS: The diaphragm has a dual role of respiration and postural control...

BACKGROUND: Primary dysmenorrhea represents one of the most common causes of pelvic and low back pain. Pharmacological treatment can present some side effects, and non-pharmacological treatments should be considered to improve the symptoms of primary dysmenorrhea. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of manual therapy (MT), pelvic floor exercises (PFE), and their combination (MT + PFE) to improve clinical outcomes and pain sensitivity in women with primary dysmenorrhea...