Abstract
Objective. Comparing global postural reeducation (GPR) to a standard physiotherapy treatment (PT) based on active exercises, stretching, and massaging for improving pain and function in chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients. Design. Prospective controlled study. Setting. Outpatient rehabilitation facility. Participants. Adult patients with diagnosis of nonspecific, chronic (>6 months) low back pain. Interventions. Both treatments consisted of 15 sessions of one hour each, twice a week including patient education. Measures. Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire to evaluate disability, and Numeric Analog Scale for pain. A score change >30% was considered clinically significant. Past treatments, use of medications, smoking habits, height, weight, profession, and physical activity were also recorded on baseline, on discharge, and 1 year after discharge (resp., T0, T1, and T2). Results. At T0 103 patients with cLBP (51 cases and 52 controls) were recruited. The treatment (T1) has been completed by 79 (T1) of which 60 then carried out the 1-year follow-up (T2). Both GPR and PT at T1 were associated with a significant statistical and clinical improvement in pain and function, compared to T0. At T2, only pain in GPR still registered a statistically significant improvement.
Highlights
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage [1, 2]
From June 2011 to February 2011, 103 patients diagnosed with persistent chronic low back pain attended our facility for rehabilitation treatment. 32 of them had a specific prescription of global postural reeducation (GPR), while 71 had a generic prescription of individual physiotherapy treatment (PT)
All the patients were assessed as eligible with no contraindications for GPR and all of them met the inclusion criteria. Those with GPR prescription were assigned to GPR, while the others were alternatively assigned to GPR or to PT to form a paired control group
Summary
Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage [1, 2]. Pain becomes chronic when it persists longer than the expected period of healing [1, 3], that is, 3 months [3, 4] In chronic pain, the sensorial process becomes abnormal, leading to detectable changes in central nervous system data processing, motor control, and the experience of pain itself [2, 5]. Low back pain (LBP) is defined as pain and/or discomfort located below the costal margin and above the inferior gluteus folds, with or without related leg pain [6]. Low back pain has a relevant impact on patients in terms of pain, activity limitations, participation restrictions, influence on career, use of sanitary resources, and financial burdens [6, 7]
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