Effectiveness of Diaphragm Treatment in Reducing Low Back Pain

Launched by UNIVERSITY OF SEVILLE · Oct 4, 2023

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is investigating whether adding a specific stretching technique for the diaphragm can help reduce low back pain in patients who receive standard physiotherapy treatment. The study will compare two groups: one group will receive traditional physiotherapy, including massage and electrotherapy, while the other group will receive the same treatments plus the diaphragm stretching technique. Researchers want to see if this additional technique improves mobility, reduces pain, and enhances quality of life for those with mechanical low back pain.

To participate in this trial, you need to be at least 18 years old and have been diagnosed with subacute or chronic mechanical low back pain by a doctor. It’s important that you also have a dysfunction of the diaphragm, which is a muscle involved in breathing. However, certain conditions, such as previous surgeries or specific medical issues, may exclude you from participating. If you join the study, you will attend ten treatment sessions over two weeks, and your progress will be monitored through various tests to measure pain, movement, and overall health before, during, and after treatment.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Patient diagnosed with subacute or chronic mechanical low back pain by a specialist doctor and who has attended in "Fisioclinic" physiotherapy clinic.
• • Older than 18 years-old.
• • Indistinct sex.
• • Diaphragm dysfunction.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Any surgical intervention on the upper and lower limbs, head, spine, thorax or abdomen at any time in their lives, with a visible anatomy cause on imaging tests.
• • Any pathology of non-mechanical origin, such as inflammatory, infectious, tumorous, neurological, traumatic processes and bone diseases in the lumbar spine.
• • Having received analgesic or anti-inflammatory medical treatment for pain in a period of less than two weeks.
• • Pregnant women, including the breastfeeding period.
• • Patients receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
• • Basic systemic disease of rheumatic origin (for example, arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout and psoriasis).
• • Implanted electronic devices.
• • Drug or alcohol abuse, analgesic or sedative therapy and use of medications that affect the central nervous system (for example, antidepressants, anxiolytics and anticonvulsants).
• • Patients who have previous experience with manual treatment of the diaphragm.
• • Patients with high work activity.
• • Outside the age range for the study.
• • Refusal to participate in the study.
• • Refusal to complete and sign the informed consent.