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Pilates to Treat Low Back Pain

The Effectiveness of Pilates to Treat Low Back Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Status
Completed
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT01502059
Acronym
PTLBP
Enrollment
60
Registered
2011-12-30
Start date
2008-06-30
Completion date
2011-06-30
Last updated
2011-12-30

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

Conditions

Pain, Quality of Life

Keywords

Pilates, Exercise, Treatment, Low back pain, Pain, Function

Brief summary

This is a randomized controlled trial, with blinded assessor to evaluate the effectiveness of Pilates to treat low back pain. Hypothesis - the Pilates group will have best results than the control group (usual medicament treatment).

Detailed description

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common problem among adults. Approximately 70-85% of the adult population experiences this painful complaint at some point in their lives, making LBP the second most common reason for a visit to a clinician. Despite the frequency of this diagnosis, conventional treatment does not always provide patients the desired results of reduced pain and return of normal function. For these patients, alternative modalities are available to assist in the control of pain. These options include chiropractic care, physical therapy, massage therapy, and modalities that fall under the auspices of complementary and alternative medicine, such as acupuncture. Unfortunately, Clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of a variety of interventions for chronic non-specific low back pain indicate limited effectiveness for most commonly applied interventions and approaches. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of a mat and studio Pilates program on pain, function, quality of life and NHAI consumption for chronic non-specific low back pain patients. Methods: Eligible patient include: chronic non-specific low back pain; age between 18 and 65 years; pain ranging from 4 to 8 in a numerical pain scale. Patients with previous surgery, other causes of low back pain, fibromyalgia, regular physical activity (three or more times per week for at least three months); labor lawsuit and body mass index more than 30. Sixty patients were randomized to the Experimental Group (EG) or Control Group (CG). Patients in EG participated in 90 days of mat and studio Pilates program twice a week (50 minutes per class) and the CG remained with their usual medicament treatment and were included in a waiting list for physiotherapy. Assessment for pain (VAS), function (Roland Morris questionnaire), quality of life (SF-36) and NHAI consumption were done at baseline, after 45 days (T45), after 90 days (T90 - end of the program), after 90 days (T180 - follow up) by a blinded assessor.

Interventions

OTHERPilates

Pilates training - twice a week (one hour per class) during 90 days

Sponsors

Federal University of São Paulo
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* non specific mechanical low back pain * visual analogue scale for pain ranging from 4 to 7

Exclusion criteria

* previous back surgery * spinal tumor * spinal fracture * pregnancy * fibromyalgia * inflammatory or infectious spinal diseases * litigant patients

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in painBaseline, after 45, 90 and 180 daysMeasured with the visual analogue scale ranging from 0 to 10

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in functionBaseline, after 45, 90 and 180 daysMeasured by the questionnaire Roland Morris
Change in quality of lifeBaseline, after 45, 90 and 180 daysMeasured by the SF-36 questionnaire
Change in nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) consumptionBaseline, after 45, 90 and 180 daysMeasured by counting the number of tablets consumed per month

Countries

Brazil

Outcome results

None listed

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