Methodological Quality of Randomized Clinical Trials on Treatment Efficcact in Low Back Pain

The aim of this systematic review was to summarize randomized clinical trials (RCTs) assessing the effectiveness of acupuncture as published in Korean literature. Systematic searches were conducted on eight Korean medical databases. Manual searches were also conducted through eight major Korean medical journals. The methodological quality was assessed using a Jadad score. Studies evaluating needle acupuncture or auricular acupuncture (AA) with or without electrical stimulation were considered if they were sham or placebo-controlled or controlled against a comparative intervention. We also excluded acupuncture as an adjuvant to other treatments and other forms of acupuncture were excluded. Seven hundred and nine possibly relevant studies were identified and 10 RCTs were included. The methodological quality of the trials was generally poor. Manual acupuncture was compared to placebo acupuncture in four studies of patients with chronic low back pain, shoulder pain, premenstrual syndrome and allergic rhinitis. Three studies tested AA (two trials) and electroacupuncture (one trial) against no treatment, while three trials compared acupuncture with other active therapeutic controls. The methodological limitations of the included trials make their contribution to the current clinical evidence of acupuncture somewhat limited. The trial for premenstrual syndrome, shoulder pain and chronic low back pain added a limited contribution among those included RCTs. However, well-designed RCTs of acupuncture with a rigorous methodology are in progress or have been completed in Korea and will contribute to establish or contribute to the current progress of research in this field.

Download Full-text

Trend in methodological quality of randomised clinical trials in low back pain

Best Practice & Research Clinical Rheumatology ◽

10.1016/j.berh.2005.02.001 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 19 (4) ◽

pp. 529-539 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

B.W. Koes ◽

A. Malmivaara ◽

M.W. van Tulder

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Methodological Quality ◽

Randomised Clinical Trials ◽

Low Back

Download Full-text

Influence of Pilates Method on Nonspecific Lumbar Pain

Arquivos Brasileiros de Neurocirurgia Brazilian Neurosurgery ◽

10.1055/s-0040-1716561 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 39 (04) ◽

pp. 300-305

Author(s):

Ana Carla Schimidt ◽

Paula de Oliveira Herzinger ◽

Danielle Pacheco Matias ◽

Leonardo C. Welling

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Pain Perception ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Lumbar Pain ◽

Low Back ◽

Reduction Of Pain ◽

Pilates Method

AbstractLow back pain is defined as pain located between the lower rib cage and the gluteal folds, and its etiology is multifactorial, considerably affecting quality of life. The aim of this literature review was to analyze the influence of the Pilates method on the symptoms of patients with nonspecific low back pain, which is considered a promising treatment for this type of pathology. A narrative review of the literature was carried out using the PubMed, Pedro, Scopus and Scielo databases. To perform the search, Pilates AND Low back nonspecific AND Pain were used as keywords. Articles published in the last 5 years, randomized clinical trials that verified the influence of the Pilates method in adult individuals with unspecified low back pain and full text in English were included. Of the 77 articles identified, 7 articles met the inclusion criteria, 7 analyzed the primary outcomes of pain intensity and disability, 5 articles compared Pilates with other rehabilitation techniques and 2 studies compared the effectiveness of Pilates solo with Pilates apparatus. It was concluded that all the techniques that were compared with Pilates are effective, being difficult to affirm the superiority of Pilates over them in relation to the reduction of pain and disability and improvement of quality of life. However, the Pilates method has shown good results in pain perception and intensity, functional capacity, fear of movement and the idea that movement can worsen your condition, muscle strength, range of motion and flexibility.

Download Full-text

Low Back Pain in Athletes Is Associated with General and Sport Specific Risk Factors: A Comprehensive Review of Longitudinal Studies

Rehabilitation Research and Practice ◽

10.1155/2015/850184 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Vahideh Moradi ◽

Amir-Hossein Memari ◽

Monir ShayestehFar ◽

Ramin Kordi

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Body Weight ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Longitudinal Studies ◽

Methodological Quality ◽

Low Back ◽

Lumbar Flexion ◽

High Body

We aimed to examine systematically the available evidence on risk factors of low back pain (LBP) in athletes. We performed search without language restriction in PubMed, Ovid, Google Scholar, Scopus, and CINAHL. Longitudinal studies that examined possible risk factors of LBP in athletes were included in this systematic review. Based on methodological quality of studies, a best-evidence synthesis was conducted. Seven longitudinal studies were included, four of which had high methodological quality. Results showed that previous LBP, decreased lumbar flexion, and decreased lumbar extension are positively associated with LBP. There was moderate evidence for hip flexor tightness and high body weight as a risk factor. We found insufficient evidence for association between forward bending, previous injury, and amount of training per week, active years, age, and sex with LBP. In conclusion this study would provide a list of risk factors for LBP in athletes, though it showed a strong evidence for only a few including decrease lumbar flexion or extension, previous LBP, and high body weight. This review indicated a high heterogeneity of study characteristics including assessed risk factors and statistical techniques might limit the quality of evidence.

Download Full-text

EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK WAVE THERAPY (ESWT) IN CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF RANDOMIZED CLINICAL TRIALS

HIGHER SCHOOL’S PULSE ◽

10.5604/01.3001.0013.9718 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 1-16

Author(s):

Karolina Walewicz

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Low Back Pain ◽

Back Pain ◽

Chronic Low Back Pain ◽

Randomized Clinical Trials ◽

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy ◽

Low Back ◽

Shock Wave Therapy ◽

Extracorporeal Shock Wave

Background: Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT) has become a popular tool to treat musculoskeletal disorders and chronic low back pain. Aim of the study: To review the current scientific literature and assess the utility of ESWT in treating chronic low back pain. Methods: This systematic review was conducted from November 2019 to January 2020. Its purpose was to determine what the effectiveness is of the various forms of ESWT for the treatment of chronic low back pain. The critical review of the literature on the use of ESWT in chronic low back was made using the scientifically recognized medical databases PubMed, MEDLINE, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) and Web of Science Core Collection. There was no restriction by date. Exclusion criteria were experimental, in vitro, animal, review, case reports, non-randomized clinical trials or studies with healthy participants. All articles written in languages other than English have also been excluded. Results: Six studies were included in the final analysis. According to the applied PEDro classification, the average scoring for the studies was 4.83, which indicates overall low quality of the presented reports. However, this result appeared closer to the moderate (acceptable) quality range (6-8 points) than to the unacceptable range (0-2 points). Conclusion: Based on the findings in the analyzed articles, ESWT promises to be an efficient and useful procedure in chronic low back pain treatment. Unfortunately, the level of evidence is relatively weak because there are a limited number of published studies related to ESWT and the final score in the PEDro classification was low. Together, these results indicate the need for further high quality randomized clinical trials.

Download Full-text