Purpose
To clarify the effects of treatment process using a 12-week horizontal vibration exercise on pain, lumbar extensor and flexor muscle strength and abdominal and paraspinal muscle thickness, balance, level of function in activities of daily living in chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients compared with vertical vibration exercise.
Methods
According to the type of exercise, subjects were randomly assigned to horizontal vibration exercise group (HVE) and vertical vibration exercise (VVE) group. All participants performed the exercise program for 30 minutes a day, three times a week for a total 12 weeks. The program consisted of 5 minutes of warming-up exercise followed by 25 minutes of WBV exercise. In HVE, the trials were performed on the horizontal vibration platform that oscillates anterior-posterior plane with amplitude of 48mm in the y-axis. In VVE, the subjects used the vertical vibration platform in the same manner as HVE, except that the vibration treatment they received was vertical axis with a frequency range of 28-34 Hz and amplitude of 2.5-5mm.
The primary purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of treatment process for CLBP patients using a 12-week horizontal axis vibration exercise on VAS, ODI compared with the results of vertical axis vibration exercise. The secondary purpose was to evaluate the effects of the lumbar extensor and flexor muscles peak torque, average power and the transverse abdominis, multifidus muscle thickness using ultrasonography, balance parameters in same ways.
Results
A total of twenty-eight participants completed all the exercise and assessment sessions. In all groups, a significant decrease in VAS scores was showed from 12 weeks that persists until 4 weeks after the intervention. The result of ODI revealed significant reduction effect at 6 weeks of treatment in HVE group and 12 weeks in VVE exercise group. And the standing balance control score, lumbar trunk muscle strength in terms of peak torque and average power significantly increased in both groups. But there were no significant changes of all muscle thickness over time in both groups. In all assessments, the differences between groups over time were not significant.
Conclusion
There were significant change of VAS, ODI, lumbar extensor and flexor muscle peak torque, average power, balance scores over time in both whole body horizontal and vibration exercise according time but no statistically significant difference between groups according to time. Based on these findings, horizontal vibration exercise is as effective as vertical vibration exercise in reducing pain, improving the balance ability, and the functional ability associated with chronic low back pain.
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