Effectiveness of specific physical fitness program on chronic low back pain and mental health of elderly in Bangladesh: A Randomized controlled trial study

Chronic low back pain is a common and disabling condition among elderly people in Bangladesh. It often leads to reduced quality of life, poor mental health, and increased risk of falls. Conventional physiotherapy mainly provides short term symptom relief and recurrence of pain is common. Adding a structured physical fitness program may help achieve better and longer-lasting outcomes.

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a supervised physical fitness program combined with conventional physiotherapy in elderly individuals with chronic low back pain. The study will be conducted at the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed in Bangladesh. A total of 200 participants aged 60 years and above with chronic low back pain will be randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group will receive conventional care along with a supervised physical fitness program for six weeks, while the control group will receive conventional care only.

Primary outcome measures will include pain intensity assessed using the Visual Analog Scale and mental health status assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Secondary outcomes will include physical fitness assessed by the Senior Fitness Test and fall risk assessed using a Falls Risk Assessment Tool. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, after six weeks of intervention, and at six months follow-up.

The study is expected to show that the integrated physical fitness program combined with conventional care leads to greater improvement in pain reduction, mental health, physical fitness, and fall risk compared to conventional care alone. The findings may support improved long-term management strategies for chronic low back pain among the elderly population in Bangladesh.