Mental Imagery Enhances Proprioception in Patients With Low Back Pain

Effect of Mental Imagery in Improvement of the Repositioning Accuracy and Proprioception in Patients With Low Back Pain

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Observational

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT01469949

Acronym

Enrollment

Registered

2011-11-10

Start date

2011-05-31

Completion date

2011-07-31

Last updated

2011-11-10

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

Conditions

Low Back Pain

Keywords

Improvement of the accuracy of Lumbar repositioning

Brief summary

Mental imagery has been used in a variety of pathological instances in support to classical therapeutic treatments. The aim of the present study was to observe the effect of internal Kinesthetic and external Visual Imagery to improve proprioceptive feedback in low back pain. Fifty-five subjects with a history of low back pain were included in two experimental groups who used mental imagery and one control group who did not. The results showed the effectiveness of the Internal Kinesthetic Imagery to improve the accuracy of repositioning of lumbo-sacral spine that may subsequently improve the quality of the proprioceptive input. The possibility to use effectively mental imagery, as a part of proprioceptive rehabilitation process, is the principal outcome of this study.

Interventions

OTHERWatching or imagining movement

Mental imagery are administered in two forms : kinesthetic when subjects imagine the movement of flexion and extension of the lumbar spine and Visual when subjects watch a video of a third person doing the flexion and extension movement

Study design

Observational model

CASE_CONTROL

Time perspective

PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

18 Years to 21 Years

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

* Subjects suffering from common non-specific low back pain

Exclusion criteria

* Recent history of inner ear infection causing associated balance or coordination problems * History of cerebral trauma followed by unresolved neurosensory symptoms * Recent history of vestibular disorder and previous spinal surgery * An involvement in specific balance or stabilization training during the 6 months prior testing. Patients taking pain medication were excluded from the study.

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame	Description
Accuracy of Lumbar Spine Repositioning	2hours	Before and after the intervention (Kinesthetic or visual Imagery)

Countries

Lebanon

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026