Comparative Effects of Vojta Therapy and Standard Physical Therapy on Pain Level and Functional Ability in Working-Age Patients with Non-Specific Low Back Pain
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Abstract
Introduction: The standard physical therapy plays a role in reducing low back pain and increasing functional ability. Vojta therapy helps strengthen the deep muscles of the trunk, beneficial effect on patients with back pain. However, there is a lack of studies on vojta therapy in working-age back pain patients. The study aimed to compare the effects of vojta therapy combined with standard physical therapy and standard physical therapy alone on pain and the functional ability in working-age patients with non-specific low back pain.
Methods: The participants were 50 working-age patients with low back pain and were divided into 2 groups: the experimental group received vojta therapy combined with standard physical therapy (n=25), and the standard physical therapy alone group (n=25). The vojta therapy is 30 minutes and standard physical therapy treatment is 45 minutes, 2-3 times per week, for 4 weeks. Assessment of pain levels and functional ability before and after 4 weeks of treatment or 10 complete treatments. Descriptive statistics include mean, percentage, and standard deviation to describe characteristics, and inferential statistics was an independent t-test to compare pain level and functional ability between the experimental group and the control group. The statistical significance level was set at the 0.05 level.
Results: Within both the experimental and control groups, a significant reduction in pain scores (mean=1.00±0.00) and an improvement in functional ability (mean=1.92±1.45) were observed between pre-test and post-test assessments. When comparing the groups, the experiment exhibited significantly reduced pain scores (mean=1.00±0.00; 95% CI= -1.52 - 0.32) and improved functional ability (mean=4.72±3.62; 95% CI=-8.1-1.74) compared to the control.
Conclusion: Both groups are effective in managing pain and improving the functional ability of low back pain patients. However, vojta therapy combined with standard physical therapy has had better results than the standard physical therapy alone group.
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