The effect of continuous ultrasound on chronic low back pain: protocol of a randomized controlled trial

BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders

Study Protocol

Maurits W van Tulder¹  Noureddin Nakhostin Ansari²  Safoora Ebadi²  Soofia Naghdi²  Nicholas Henschke³ 

[1] Professor of Health Technology Assessment, Department of Health Sciences and EMGO Institute for Health & Care Research, Faculty of Earth & Life Sciences, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Rehabilitation Faculty, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran;The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney, Australia and EMGO Institute for Health & Care Research, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;

关键词: Exercise Therapy;    Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation;    Spondylolysis;    Therapeutic Ultrasound;    Lumbar Flexion;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2474-12-59

 received in 2011-01-13, accepted in 2011-03-16,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundChronic non-specific low-back pain (LBP) is one of the most common and expensive musculoskeletal disorders in industrialized countries. Similar to other countries in the world, LBP is a common health and socioeconomic problem in Iran. One of the most widely used modalities in the field of physiotherapy for treating LBP is therapeutic ultrasound. Despite its common use, there is still inconclusive evidence to support its effectiveness in this group of patients. This randomised trial will evaluate the effectiveness of continuous ultrasound in addition to exercise therapy in patients with chronic LBP.Methods and designA total of 46 patients, between the ages 18 and 65 years old who have had LBP for more than three months will be recruited from university hospitals. Participants will be randomized to receive continuous ultrasound plus exercise therapy or placebo ultrasound plus exercise therapy. These groups will be treated for 10 sessions during a period of 4 weeks. Primary outcome measures will be functional disability and pain intensity. Lumbar flexion and extension range of motion, as well as changes in electromyography muscle fatigue indices, will be measured as secondary outcomes. All outcome measures will be measured at baseline, after completion of the treatment sessions, and after one month.DiscussionThe results of this trial will help to provide some evidence regarding the use of continuous ultrasound in chronic LBP patients. This should lead to a more evidence-based approach to clinical decision making regarding the use of ultrasound for LBP.Trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register (NTR): NTR2251

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Ebadi et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011