Is Tele-Rehabilitation an Effective Option for Women with Chronic Low Back Pain?

Poster Presentation
Paper ID : 1468-SSRC
Authors
دانشگاه پیام نور تهران جنوب
Abstract
Aims: Telerehabilitation (TR) has emerged as a popular treatment option in managing chronic pain. Remotely delivered interventions such as TR have been developed as a way of increasing accessibility to healthcare, especially for those with pain and disability (1-3). However, its effectiveness for individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP) is still limited and uncertain. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of exercise–based TR in the remote management of pain and disability in women with CLBP during COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest. 27 middle-aged females (40 to 60 y) were selected among non-physical education students of Tehran Payam-e-Noor University with CLBP and randomly allocated to TR (TG), (N=15, 46.87±6.38 years) and control group (CG), (N=12, 46.17±6.32 years). Pain intensity and functional disability were assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and Back Performance Scale (BPS), respectively. TG delivered TR through online sessions and performed proposed exercises for four times a week for four weeks at home while CG maintained their usual lifestyle pattern. Data was analyzed using ANCOVA and paired T-test through SPSS software, version 25. The normal distribution of the variables was verified using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and homogeneity of variance with Levene’s test. P < 0.05 was considered significant in all statistical tests.
Results: Between-group comparisons indicated that before the exercise intervention there were no significant differences in pain intensity and functional disability between TG and CG. Following TR intervention there were significant improvements observed in TG (P < 0.05) and also there was a significant difference on the results of post-test research variables between the two groups (P < 0.05). TR could reduce pain of TG compared to CG (F=14.4, P=0.00). Moreover it led to a significant improvement in ODI (F=142.63, P=0.00) and BPS (F=53.95, P=0.00) in TG.
Conclusion: The study findings support the efficacy of TR via mobile on improving level of pain and functional disability in middle-aged women with CLBP. The use of this type of exercise is could be proposed in corrective exercises and movement therapy clinics.
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