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Movement Quality and Balance Improvement in People With Chronic Low Back Pain Following Trunk Muscle Training

Not Applicable
Recruiting
Conditions
Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP)
Registration Number
NCT06944730
Lead Sponsor
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Brief Summary

The goal of this project is to assess if Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) participant's movement quality and balance variables can change after training that decreases their pain and disability. It will also compare the difference between structural exercise (SE) and isolated trunk exercise (ITE). The main questions it aims to answer are:

1. What are the effect of the training on the participant's movement quality and balance.

2. What are the difference between different types of trunk muscle training on people with CLBP.

Researchers will compare SE, ITE and control. Control group will receive back school education that was shown not to be effective in reducing pain and disability.

Participants will:

1. Do home and in-lab based SE or ITE training, or maintain active daily living over 2 months.

2. Complete the pain and disability questionnaire and do several physical functioning tests while having their trunk and lower limb movement and muscle activation measured.

Detailed Description

Both ITE and SE training are equalized in terms of training intensity based on rate of perceived exertion, training duration per session, training frequency, and intervention period. Training intensity measurement does not use other methods of quantification as ITE training does not increase heart rate or blood lactate significantly regardless of the intensity.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
RECRUITING
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
60
Inclusion Criteria
  • body mass index (BMI) 18-25 kg/m2
  • experiencing intermittent pain lasting at least 3 months
  • had Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score ranging between 17% and 45%.
Exclusion Criteria
  • exercise contraindication based on physical activity readiness questionnaire
  • indication or diagnosis of other chronic diseases (such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, bone fracture, or infection)
  • artificial lower limb joints, history of spinal surgery, walking aid use
  • personal mobility restrictions (due to connective tissue diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, or central nervous system disorders)
  • pregnancy or within 1 year post partum

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Lower lumbar active range of motionSame day as first day of intervention and within one week after intervention

active range of motion of the lower lumbar area during five-repetitions sit-to-stand test.

5RSTS timeSame day as first day of intervention and within one week after intervention

Time required to complete five-repetitions sit-to-stand with smaller time indicating better performance.

Segmental movement coordinationSame day as first day of intervention and within one week after intervention

Lumbar-to-pelvis and pelvis-to-femur movement coordination as quantified by mean absolute relative phase angle during five-repetitions sit-to-stand. Smaller number indicates greater coordination between the two segments.

Segmental movement stabilitySame day as first day of intervention and within one week after intervention

lumbar-to-pelvis and pelvis-to-femur movement stability as quantified by deviation phase during five-repetitions sit-to-stand. Greater number indicates lesser segmental movement stability.

Postural stabilitySame day as first day of intervention and within one week after intervention

Center-of-pressure normalized mean velocity during Y-balance test. Smaller number indicate greater stability

Postural ControlSame day as first day of intervention and within one week after intervention

normalized leg reach during y-balance test, with larger number indicating greater postural control.

Perceived painSame day as first day of intervention and within one week after intervention

score from numerical pain rating scale from zero (0) to ten (10), with 0 indicating no pain.

Perceived disabilitySame day as first day of intervention and within one week after intervention

Score based on oswestry disability index scoring from zero (0) to one hundred (100) percent, with zero indicating no disability.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
LAP performanceSame day as first day of intervention and within one week after intervention

time required to complete the lift and place test with lesser time indicating greater performance

Muscle synergySame day as first day of intervention and within one week after intervention

Muscle synergy as measured by the surface electromyography (SEMG) output of the latissimus dorsi, longissimus pars thoracis, longissimus pars lumborum, external oblique, rectus abdominis, gluteus maximus and biceps femoris muscle both on left and right side during all functional tests. SEMG signals would then be processed using non-negative matrix factorization to find the underlying muscle synergies

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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