Comparison of Mckenzie approach versus Lumbar Stabilization Exercises in the treatment of chronic low back pain

Introduction: Lumbar stabilization and McKenzie exercises are becoming a popular trend for managing chronic low back pain though it is currently not known whether lumbar stabilization exercises produce better results in improving functional status compared to McKenzie approach. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the McKenzie approach versus lumbar stabilization in the treatment of chronic low back pain. Material & Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial. Lottery method was used to randomly divide individuals who fulfilled inclusion criteria into 2 groups. Assessments of the patients were done in OPD. Baseline assessment was done on day 1 and post intervention assessment was done after 2 weeks. A total of 8 treatment sessions spread across 2 weeks were given (4 days per week). Data were assessed at baseline level and post intervention. Data was entered and analysed by SPSS version 21. Results: A total of 28 females and 02 males (mean age of 50.88 ±12.29) participated in the study. After 02 weeks of intervention, both treatment groups showed improvement in decreasing pain and improving functional status. The lumber stabilization group showed significant gains on Numeric Pain Rating Scale and (p=0.001) and Modified Oswestry Disability Index (p=0.001) compared to the Mckenzie group. Conclusion: Patients in both lumber stabilisation and McKenzie groups showed significant improvement, however, the patients in lumbar stabilization group were superior than the patients in McKenzie group on the selected outcomes.