Positional Release Technique Versus Muscle Energy Technique for Patients With Nonspecific Low Back Pain With Facet...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Physical Therapy
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) is a prevalent condition often associated with facet joint restrictions.
• Investigating manual therapy techniques for NSLBP is crucial for improving patient outcomes.
• Positional Release Technique (PRT) and Muscle Energy Technique (MET) are manual therapies with potential applications in NSLBP management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the short-term effectiveness and feasibility of PRT versus MET for NSLBP patients with suspected facet joint restrictions.
• To evaluate the impact of these techniques on pain intensity and functional disability.

Main Methods:

• A pilot randomized comparative study involving 36 patients (25-50 years) diagnosed with NSLBP.
• Patients were randomly assigned to receive either PRT or MET, with a universal 15-minute hot pack application before treatment.
• Pain was measured using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and functional status using the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMQ) over a four-week period with three treatments per week.

Main Results:

• Both PRT and MET interventions led to significant reductions in pain and disability.
• MET demonstrated a greater average reduction in VAS scores (5.66 points) compared to PRT (1.5 points).
• MET also showed a more substantial average decrease in RMQ scores (9.05 points) than PRT (1.05 points).

Conclusions:

• The MET technique appears to yield more significant short-term improvements in pain and function for NSLBP patients with facet joint restrictions compared to PRT.
• Further research is warranted to confirm the efficacy of MET in this patient population.