Lumbopelvic Cognitive Movement Control Training Versus Core Stability Exercises in Treatment of Sacroiliac Joint Pain

The sacroiliac joint (SIJ) pain is a significant contributor to LBP at any age, but it affects the elderly and young active people more frequently. Based on estimates from several studies, the SIJ causes pain in 10-38% of LBP patients. Altered lumbopelvic stability causes faulty movement of the spine during limb movement, and the faulty movement may cause mechanical irritation to the adjacent joint which when repeated and accumulated may cause LBP or SIJP. Additionally, it was revealed that patients with LBP have altered movement strategies in the form of uncontrolled movements which cause symptoms. This uncontrolled movement can be defined as 'an inability to cognitively control movement at a specific site and direction, while moving elsewhere to benchmark standards'.

Despite the need to identify the most effective treatment options for SIJ pain, controversy still remains with unclear definite conclusion regarding the use of physiotherapy interventions in those patients. Clinically, the diagnosis pathway has become more definite, but the treatment algorithm is less well-defined with conflicting evidence of the standard treatment either invasively or conservatively. For the management of SIJP, the conventional approach which includes ultrasound (US) application combined with muscle energy technique (MET) for the lumbopelvic region can be successfully used. Moreover, core stabilization exercises are considered a fundamental component of physiotherapy with the goal to improve the strength and coordination of deep core stabilizers such as the transversus abdominis, multifidus, and pelvic floor muscles, which are critical for maintaining lumbopelvic stability, reducing pain and disability and also, lowing the risk of recurrent injury. Among the conservative interventions, cognitive movement control training has begun to emerge as a promising management approach and garnered attention in recent years because it involves active cognitive participation and focuses on improving stability and neuromuscular control of the lumbosacral region.

Despite that stabilization and motor control exercises, in the context of the physiotherapy literature, are a well-established management method for LBP and SIJ region pain, there is still limited evidence on which stabilization or motor control training approach is more effective and leads to better outcomes in patients with LBP of sacroiliac origin. Unfortunately, within the available literature, various treatment plans for SIJ pain have been described but there are few published studies regarding postural lumbopelvic stability and SIJ and as a result, the assessment and management of SIJP subjects with potential balance or postural control deficits are valuable and needed.

Although the effectiveness of motor control training in reducing pain in the lumbar spine was confirmed, the need for the selection of exercises due to the occurrence of various forms of movement pattern disorders is still critical. This underlies the need to recognize individual differences in clinical presentation and/or which activities and functions are painful and difficult to do. Therefore, here is the importance of cognitive movement control training in targeting the patient's own complaint and also tailoring interventions based on assessment.

So, CMCT can be an effective form of treatment for lumbopelvic pain because this type of exercises restores normal muscle activation, proprioceptive reeducation, and retraining of movement patterns with a positive effect of on disability and pain severity in the short-term and long-term.