A comparative study of the effectiveness of the use of a back care pillow and a lumbar support, as an adjuvant physical therapy in patients with chronic non-specific low back pain

Abstract

Non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP) is a most common disorder in general population, especially in the working age group. Due to the economic expense caused by low back pain is extremely high. Recent studies have shown that either lumbar support (LS) or back care pillow (BCP) on low back pain patients; however, no previous studies have exactly compared effectiveness between BCP and LS on low back pain patients yet. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a BCP and LS on pain, quality of life, and lumbar range of motion, functional disability, and patient’s satisfaction. Sixty-six participants who were randomly assigned BCP and LS groups. Participants in each group received six sessions of the 30 minutes treatment for two weeks. The BCP and LS groups were asked to wear the BCP and LS during the daytime for a 3-month period. Each participant was measured pain intensity, quality of life, and lumbar range of motion, functional disability, and patient’s satisfaction. The outcome measures were assessed before and after the 2-week treatment, and at the end of a 3-months follow up. The results demonstrated that within group, there was a significant improvement in all outcomes (p < 0.05).