THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PASSIVE STRETCHING IN PATIENTS CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) Compare the level of pain, disability and range of motion of the lumbar spine before and after treatment in the experimental and control groups, and 2) Compare the level of pain, disability and range of motion of the lumbar spine after treatment between the experimental and control groups, totaling 60 subjects. The research instruments consisted of a general information questionnaire, a pain assessment form, the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire and the Oswestry Disability Index, which were validated by 3 experts. The experiment was conducted and data was collected from August to December 2020. They were divided into 2 groups: 1) Receiving physical therapy treatment; 2) Receiving physical therapy treatment and a stretching program with the help of others. The level of pain and range of motion of the back were assessed. The results of the treatment were measured before and after treatment using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics for data analysis. The results of the treatment were compared between the groups using the Mann-Whitney U test. From the study on the treatment with stretching with the help of others, the study of the changes before and after treatment between the experimental and control groups. This study revealed that the results before and after treatment in both groups could reduce the severity of pain and disability with statistical significance. And there was a statistically significant increase in the distance of movement of the lumbar spine, p = 0.001. The comparative results after treatment between the experimental group and the control group were able to reduce the level of pain severity and disability more than the control group with statistically significant increase. The experimental group had a statistically significant increase in the distance of movement of the lumbar spine more than the control group, p = 0.02.