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A Randomized Controlled Trial to Compare the Effectiveness of Smart Dynamic Fabric Actuator with Exercises in Chronic
Vineet Kashyap1, Srikumar Venkataraman1, Bipin Kumar2
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Background:
There are adverse effects on the health outcomes of workers whose occupation involves prolonged standing, such as lower back pain, leg pain, cardiovascular diseases, fatigue, discomfort, and pregnancy-related health outcomes. The effectiveness of massage therapy as an intervention for managing leg pain associated with prolonged standing needs to be addressed.
Aims:
This study aimed to evaluate the smart dynamic fabric actuator's effectiveness in treating chronic musculoskeletal leg pain in persons with occupations involving prolonged standing.
Setting:
Tertiary care hospital.
Design:
Randomized controlled trial.
Methods:
Thirty participants with chronic leg pain satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria participated in the study. The intervention group used the device for 15 minutes for each leg once a day and stretching exercises twice a day for six weeks. The control group performed stretching exercises twice a day for six weeks. The outcome was assessed at baseline, three weeks, and six weeks with a Numeric Rating Scale for pain and fatigue, short form-McGill Pain Questionnaire for pain, and SF-36 for quality of life.
Statistical Analysis:
The groups were compared using the two-sample t-test with equal variances, the two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum test, and the Chi2 exact test as appropriate.
Results:
Thirty medical (nursing officers and doctors) and nonmedical professionals (security guards and sales assistants) with a mean age of 32.9 ± 5.6 years (intervention group) and 36.2 ± 5.1 years (control group) participated in the study. At six weeks, a significant improvement in pain (4.80 ± 1.14 to 1.66 ± 1.04 vs 4.66 ± 0.89 to 2.6 ± 0.91, P = 0.014), quality of life (58.77 ± 9.06 to 71.76 ± 8.43 vs 51.39 ± 8.26 to 63.87 ± 7.61, P = 0.012), and reduced fatigue (5 to 2 vs 5 to 3, P = 0.003) was observed in the intervention group when compared with the control group. No adverse events were observed.
Conclusion:
A smart dynamic fabric actuator can be used as an adjunct to exercises for reducing leg pain and fatigue associated with prolonged standing.
