Chronic back pain in the lower back is one of the most common health complaints worldwide. From a therapeutic point of view, there are various methods of treating this back pain. In an experimental study, a research team led by María Aguilar-Ferrándiz investigated the effect of a supervised back exercise program in combination with TENS, or kinesiology taping for lower back pain, and achieved promising results.
Back pain is widespread in Switzerland. In a representative survey conducted by the Rheumaliga Schweiz (1), 88 percent of respondents stated that they suffer from back pain at least once a year. 39 percent even struggle with it several times a month. According to the survey, women and people from lower socio-economic backgrounds are particularly often affected. The most common areas of pain are the back, lower back and neck.
Various treatment methods for lower back pain have already been scientifically tested and show positive effects in terms of pain perception and the impairment (e.g. inability to work) of those affected - including exercise therapy (2), kinesiology (3) and electrotherapy (4). Aguilar-Ferrándiz and her colleagues, who conduct research in the field of physiotherapy at the Spanish University of Granada, have now looked at the combination of these methods and compared them with each other.
The researchers conducted a clinical experiment with back pain patients over a period of four weeks. The 58 participants, who suffered from chronic lower back pain, were randomly divided into two groups. In the first group, kinesiology tapes were applied to the area of the lower back. The second group received regular TENS treatment. In addition, the patients in both groups took part in 12 training sessions with back exercises. In order to determine the effects, the research team compared how the patients felt before and after the treatment. They also looked at differences between the TENS and kinesiology taping groups.
The researchers found positive effects in their study. After treatment, both groups showed a significant improvement in back pain impairment and pain intensity. In addition, the pressure pain threshold was increased. Mental health also improved. Anxiety and depressive moods decreased and sleep patterns developed positively. While both kinesiology taping and TENS in combination with exercise therapy had positive effects on lower back pain, the improvement in terms of impairment and pain intensity was greater in the group with TENS.
With this study, Aguilar-Ferrándiz's team was thus able to show that a combination of methods is suitable for treating lower back pain. Both kinesio taping and TENS have positive effects in addition to back exercises, with the combination of back exercises and TENS in particular appearing to be a promising approach.
You can find the study by Aguilar-Ferrándiz et al. here for further reading.
