The Effects of two methods Exercise Therapy on Military Personnel with Chronic Low Back Pain

Aims: Non-specific chronic low back pain is one of the most common causes of absence from work. Physical exercise is also one of the treatment methods for patients with chronic low back pain. This study aimed to compare the effects of two forms of traditional exercise and Pilates on pain reduction and improvement of the function of employed women with non-specific chronic low back pain.

Methods: In this clinical trial, 45 employed women with non-specific chronic low back pain were selected through accessibility sampling. Then, they were randomly assigned to 3 groups of Traditional (TRN1), Pilates (TRN2) and control (CTL). Treatment duration was 8 weeks for experimental groups. Pain intensity and degree of function (both ordinal) were assessed using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Questionnaire of Oswestry. Paired T-test and ANOVA were used for statistical analysis at significance level of p < 0.05.

Results: Average pain and disability decreased in the experimental groups (P < 0.001). Data analysis showed that there was significant difference between TRN1 and TRN2 groups in pain intensity and disability (P=0.05) while no significant change was observed in CTL group (P>0.05).

Conclusion: According to the results, Pilates group showed greater recuperation than traditional exercise group (p=0/05). Hence, it can be concluded that Pilates is an effective method to treat non-specific chronic Low Back pain and can be seen as a complementary approach.