NCT04119895

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation in Chronic Low Back Pain

Does Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation Have an Additive Effect to Core Stabilization Exercises on Pain, Disability and Ultrasonographic Thickness of Abdominal and Lumbar Muscles in Chronic Low Back Pain?

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 30 (actual)
• Sponsor: Koç University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study evaluates whether there is additive effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation applied to lower lumbar region to core stabilization exercises in the management of chronic low back pain. Participants will randomly divide into two groups; half will receive core stabilization exercises and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) in combination, while the other half will receive core stabilization exercises and sham NMES.

Detailed description

Patients with low back pain cannot activate enough the deep lumbar stabilization muscles necessary for spinal stability, such as transversus abdominis, lumbar multifidus. Core stabilization exercises are valuable in motor relearning of coactivation of deep lumbar and abdominal muscles and in stabilization of the spine. Hence, they are important in the management of chronic low back pain. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has been used in the training and strengthening of skeletal muscles for many years. It is shown that NMES can contract deep lumbar stabilization muscles and changes in muscle activation are significantly associated with pain reduction in patients with low back pain.

Conditions

• Low Back Pain

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Neuromuscular electrical stimulation and core stabilization exercise	In NMES group, the amplitude of the electrical current will be set at the highest level subject can tolerate. The lumbar stabilization mode of the device will be used. This mode consists of three phases; warming, contraction and recovery phases. The duration will be set to 35 minutes. In the first 2 minutes (warming phase), frequency is 6 Hz. Contraction phase includes consecutive cycles of contractile frequency of 40 Hz for 6 seconds and the rest frequency of 4 Hz for 12 seconds, lasting a total of 30 minutes. The last 3 minutes (recovery phase) frequency is 3 Hz. The ramp up time is 2 seconds and the ramp down time is 1 second
OTHER	Sham neuromuscular electrical stimulation and core stabilization exercise	In sham NMES group, the amplitude of the electrical current will be set at a minimum level which does not stimulate any contraction.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-10-16
• Primary completion: 2019-10-16
• Completion: 2019-10-16
• First posted: 2019-10-09
• Last updated: 2021-04-23

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)