A Comparison of 6 Weeks of Aquatic Exercise and Kinesio Taping in Patients With Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain.

Abstract

In many societies, although chronic low back pain (LBP) is a significant problem, there is no consensus on the optimal therapeutic intervention. To compare the impact of aquatic exercise (AE) and kinesio taping (KT) on the pain intensity and functional incapacity in women with chronic nonspecific LBP. Randomized controlled trial. Outpatient clinic. Thirty-six women with chronic nonspecific LBP (mean [SD]: age = 50.69 [4.187]y) participated. Participants randomly assigned to AE (n = 12), KT (n = 12), and nontreatment control (n = 12) groups for 6 weeks. Pain intensity and functional disability were evaluated at baseline and the end of the intervention. Pain intensity decreased more in the AE group than in the KT group (5.9-0.5cm [91.6% decrease] vs 5.7-2.4cm [58.1% decrease], respectively; P < .001 for both after Bonferroni post hoc test); the values decreased more in the 2 treatment groups than in the control group (P < .001 for between-group comparisons). Disability decreased more in the AE group (43.2%-18.8% [55.6% decrease]) than the KT group (37.8%-19.3% [48.3% decrease]) (P < .001 for both comparisons), but increased in the control group (38.7%-41.2% [6.5% increase]; P = .045). These results suggest AE and KT treatment methods provide pain intensity and disability improvements in women with chronic nonspecific LBP. Nevertheless, AE was more effective than KT.