Effect of Core Muscle Stabilisation Exercises on Disability Associated with Non Specific Low Back Pain in Postmenopausal Women: A Prospective Longitudinal Study

Introduction: Non Specific Low Back Pain (NSLBP) is a frequent problem faced by the majority of postmenopausal women at some stage of their lives, resulting in a significant level of disability.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of core stabilisation exercises compared to traditional physical treatment in postmenopausal women with NSLBP.

Materials and Methods: This prospective longitudinal study was conducted at the Department of Orthopaedics, ESIC Hospital, Jajmau, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, from January to August 2022, including 50 postmenopausal women aged 45-60 years with NSLBP. They were placed into two groups. Conventional LBP physical therapy methods were administered to group 2. The identical traditional and Core muscle Stabilisation Exercises (CSE) were implemented in the group 1. The Modified Oswestry Disability Index (MODI) was used for the assessment of disability. The Mann-Whitney U test and Friedman Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were conducted to analyse changes in disability scores across and among groups at the ends of the second, fourth and sixth weeks of treatment.

Results: Of 50 patients initially enrolled in the study, 33 patients were available for the final follow-up. Group 1 consisted of 16 patients, while group 2 had 17 patients. Significant reduction in disability was found across the two groups at the second, fourth and sixth weeks of treatment (p-value <0.05). In the sixth week of treatment, group 1 had a statistically greater decrease in ODI score (41.16±13.53) than group 2 (30.74±13.28) (p-value=0.003).

Conclusion: The CSE were found to be more effective than conventional physical therapy in reducing disability associated with NSLBP in postmenopausal women.