Low Back Pain
Conditions
Keywords
Low back pain, Unstable shoes, Gait, Balance
Brief summary
Some physicians, physiotherapists and nurses use or even suggest unstable shoes in cases of low back pain. No studies on the real effects of these shoes on low back pain in health care professions have been carried out and therefore as yet there is no real evidence of their effectiveness. Thus the investigators assume that wearing unstable shoes over a period of six weeks could reduce low back pain and functional disability due to the changes of the gait and posture and may increase the quality of life. The purposes of this study are: 1. To evaluate the modifications of pain level, functional capacity and quality of life among individuals with moderate level of non-specific chronic low back pain after wearing unstable shoes. 2. To quantify biomechanical modifications of gait and posture.
Interventions
DEVICEUnstable shoes (MBT)
Wearing unstable (MBT) shoes during 6 weeks
DEVICESham intervention (Adidas shoes)
Normal stable shoes (Adidas Bigroar2)
Sponsors
University Hospital, Geneva
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
30 Years to 65 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* employees of Geneva University Hospital * working in a standing position for at least 50% of their working day * aged between 30 and 65 * having chronic low back pain that has been defined at least 3 out of 10 on a visual analogue scale during the last 3 months or the need to take regular pain medication for this reason
Exclusion criteria
* having severe pain in other body parts * undergone back surgery, neurological or balance problems * inability to walk a distance of 100 meters * already worn unstable shoes and being off of work because of low back pain
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline in low back pain at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | Low back pain level with the visual analogue scale (VAS) from 0 to 10; |
| Change from baseline in the Roland-Morris disability questionnaire at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | functional disability with the Roland-Morris disability questionnaire (this questionnaire has been validated in French as the Functional Disability Scale for the Assessment of Low Back Pain - Eifel) |
| Change from baseline in the EQ-5D quality of life questionnaire at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | Quality of life with the EQ-5D. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change from baseline in pelvis anteversion during gait at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | Mean pelvis anteversion during gait |
| Change from baseline in trunk anteversion during gait at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | Mean trunk anteversion during gait |
| Change from baseline in gait speed at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | Seft-selected gait speed |
| Change from baseline in activation period of erector spinae during gait at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | Activation period of erector spinae during gait |
| Change from baseline in maximum knee extension during gait stance phase at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | Maximum knee extension during stance phase |
| Change from baseline in activation period of lower-limb muscles during gait at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | Activation period of lower-limb muscles (gasctrocnemius, peroneus, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris and semi-tendinosus) during gait |
| Change from baseline in balance performance at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | center of pressure speed in conditions : * eyes opened and eyes closed * stable and unstable surface |
| Change from baseline in ankle dorsiflexion during gait at 6 weeks | Baseline and 6 weeks | Ankle dorsiflexion at initial contact during gait |
Countries
Switzerland
Outcome results
None listed