COMPARATIVE STUDY ON LUMBAR STABILIZATION AND DYNAMIC LUMBAR STRENGTHENING EXERCISES IN REDUCING PAIN AND DISABILITY FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Background of the study: Low back pain (LBP) affects 60-80% of people at some time in their lives. It is a cause of physical morbidity and disability2 . The management of low back pain includes a wide range of intervention strategies including surgery, drug therapy, and nonmedical intervention like rehabilitation. Exercise therapy is proven to be effective in decreasing pain and improving function in chronic low back pain patients.8 Objective of the study was to compare the effectiveness of lumbar stabilization and dynamic lumbar strengthening exercises for reducing pain and disability in patients with chronic low back pain. Methodology: Total 30 patients were recruited and assigned into two groups (15 patients in each group). Group A was treated with lumbar stabilization exercises and Group B was treated with dynamic lumbar strengthening exercises. Each group exercise session lasted for 60min and was performed 3 days/week for 8 weeks. Visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were used for pre and post treatment assessment. Result: The VAS and ODI were significantly reduced in both groups. In the intergroup comparison Group A (lumbar stabilization) show significantly greater improvement in all outcome than Group B (dynamic lumbar strengthening). Conclusion: Lumbar stabilization exercises are more effective than the lumbar dynamic strengthening to reduce pain and improve function in chronic low back pain patients.