Chronic Lower Back Pain Study
We have very little understanding about how different kinds of treatment work for pain in the lower back.
What is the aim of the study?
This study aims to improve our knowledge by inviting people aged 25 to 45 years old who have pain in their lower back to conduct a treatment and research project. This project is a collaboration between Deakin University and Advance Healthcare Boronia.
What is the study about?
Recruitment for this study is complete and we are no longer enrolling participants.
One group received manual therapy and muscle control treatment at a physiotherapy centre over the course of six months. Another group received spine and general physical conditioning exercise over the course of six months.
To see how the body responds to treatment, every three months a two day series of testing was performed: one three hour session at Deakin University and an MRI-scan at Imaging at Olympic Park. This involved magnetic resonance imaging, muscle strength, performance and endurance testing, a dual x-ray absorptiometry scan of the bone in the spine, questionnaires and an assessment of how muscle activation occurs in the brain. Each of these tests was done three times: first at the start of the study, then after three months and then at the end of the study at six months.
Outcomes from the study
An overview of the study has been published in the journal Trials and data analysis is underway.