ผลของความถี่ในการออกกำลังกายยืดกล้ามเนื้อต่อการลดอาการปวดหลังส่วนล่าง

Hemmarat  Pareesri

Authors

Hemmarat Pareesri Thabo Crown Prince hospital

Keywords:

low back pain, stretching exercise, frequency of exercise, pain score, Oswestry Disability Index

Abstract

This research aimed to study the effects of stretching exercise frequency on relieving low back pain, in order to determine the most appropriate treatment approach for patients. This was a two-group, pre-post test design randomized controlled trial (RCT). The study population consisted of 70 patients with low back pain who received treatment at the physical medicine and rehabilitation clinic, Thabo Crown Prince hospital during November 2024 – May 2025. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups of 35 each. The experimental group received instructions to perform stretching exercises daily for 4 weeks, while the control group performed a few times per week for 4 weeks. Data collection tools used case record form included a patient demographic form, a numerical pain rating score recording form, and The Oswestry Low Back Pain Disability questionnaire. Assessments were conducted at baseline and after 4 weeks during November 2024 – May 2025. Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon signed ranks test and Mann-Whitney U test.

The results showed no statistically significant difference in demographic characteristics between the daily exercise group (experimental) and the few times per week exercise group (control). The baseline median pain score was 7 in both the experimental and control groups, decreasing to 4 in both groups after treatment. The baseline median Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) score was 9 in both groups, post-treatment decreasing to 4 in the experimental group and 6 in the control group. A comparison of the pain scores and ODI before and after treatment showed that both scores decreased significantly in both groups (p < 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). However, there was no statistically significant difference found between the control and experimental groups after treatment (p= 0.562 and p= 0.181, respectively). When comparing pain reduction before and after treatment, 37.1% of participants experienced a pain score reduction of more than 3 points and 88.6% experienced an ODI reduction of more than 2 points. Stratified by exercise frequency, there were no statistically significant difference in the change in pain scores and ODI between both groups (p= 0.621 and p= 0.133 respectively).

In conclusion, the exercise intervention for low back pain, whether performed a few times per week or more frequent, resulted in comparable pain reduction and improving daily life function, with no statistically significant difference.

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