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Updated: May 10, 2026
Biomechanical Changes Related to Low Back Pain: An Innovative Tool for Movement Pattern Assessment and Treatment Evaluation in Rehabilitation
Published on: December 13, 2024
Does the addition of visceral manipulation improve outcomes for patients with low back pain? Rationale and study
John Panagopoulos1, Mark Hancock, Paulo Ferreira
1Faculty of Health Science, University of Sydney, 75 East St, Lidcombe, NSW 2141, Australia. jpan9982@uni.sydney.edu.au
Objectives:
There has been no randomised controlled trial conducted to investigate the effectiveness of visceral manipulation (VM) for the treatment of low back pain (LBP). The primary aim of this study would be to investigate whether the addition of VM, to a standard physiotherapy treatment regimen, improves pain 6 weeks post treatment commencement in people with LBP. Secondary aims would be to examine the effect of VM on disability and functional outcomes at 2, 6 and 52 weeks post-treatment commencement and pain at 2 and 52 weeks.
Methods:
This paper describes the rationale and design of a randomised controlled trial investigating the addition of VM to a standard physiotherapy treatment algorithm which includes manual therapy, specific exercise and functional exercise prescription. Analysis of data would be carried out by a statistician blinded to group allocation and by intention-to-treat.
