Anticipatory Muscle Control and Effect of Stabilizing Exercises in Patients With Subacute and Chronic Low Back Pain

Randomized Controlled Trial of Stabilizing Exercises and Effect on Anticipatory Muscle Control in Patients With Subacute and Chronic Low Back Pain

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00201513

Enrollment

Registered

2005-09-20

Start date

2006-01-31

Completion date

2008-10-31

Last updated

2012-10-10

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Low Back Pain

Keywords

Muscle, Skeletal, Neuromuscular control, Stability, Exercise, Anticipatory muscle control

Brief summary

Muscular stability is essential to the spinal column to avoid harmful strain and injury to its structures. Sudden postural disturbances impose reactive internal forces through the spine. If the muscles do not react before the internal reactive forces propagate through the spine, there is a short fraction of time where the spinal column may lack sufficient muscular support. Studies have shown that in patients with low back pain deep abdominal and back muscle have a delayed response to reactive forces. The purpose of this study is to verify these findings and to investigate whether tailored interventions can improve the reaction time in stabilizing muscle around the lower spinal column i patients with subacute and chronic low back pain.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALIsolated Transversus abdominis (TrA) exercise

Eight weeks Isolated Transversus abdominis (TrA) exercise(low load) program; Isolated TrA control through biofeedback

BEHAVIORALsling exercise

Eight weeks sling(high load) exercise program; Isolated TrA control through biofeedback

BEHAVIORALgroup exercise

Eight weeks non-specific group exercise program; Isolated TrA control through biofeedback

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

20 Years to 60 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Unspecific subacute, subacute remitting and chronic LBP * Both sexes, 20-60 yrs of age * LBP between 2-8 on a 11-pt numeric rating scale

Exclusion criteria

* Previous back surgery * Sick listed more than one year * Radiating pain below knee or motor deficits * Systemic diseases and red flags * Diagnosed psychiatric disease * Ingoing insurance claim * Pregnancy

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Muscle activity onset in transversus abdominal muscle	1 year

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Pain	2 years
Function (Oswestry v2)	2 years
Fear of avoidance belief	1 year
Assessment of isolated transversus abd. and multifidus control	1 year

Countries

Norway

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 28, 2026