Exercise as an intervention results in significantly lower back pain than other treatments , or no treatment .
Core stabilisation training
Core stabilisation and core stability training have also been promoted as ‘ must do ’ activities to help low back pain . Smith and colleagues ( 2014 ) performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on stabilisation exercise for low back pain . After reviewing 29 studies they concluded that while there was significant benefit to stabilisation training compared to control groups or alternative therapies , there was no difference between benefits of core stabilisation and any other form of active exercise in the long term . In fact , most systematic reviews looking at the outcomes from core stability training report inconclusive results due to the heterogeneity of all the studies where subject characteristics and the type of core stability exercises included are poorly reported . The systematic review by Stuber and colleagues ( 2014 ) suggests definitions of activity , as well as specific details regarding the populations and interventions , need to be improved before any real conclusions can be drawn as to the value of core stability for athletes with low back pain .
Proprioceptive training
Research into this area has looked at scenarios in which subjects actively performed balance and perturbation exercises and postural control exercises . Exercises on vibration platforms were excluded . Most interventions with proprioceptive training elements did report some reduction in pain and improvement of functional status , but due to the low quality of such studies , no conclusions could be made for the benefits of this type of training .
There have been a large number of systematic reviews associated with exercise and low back pain . The interventions were broad and the descriptions of the types of activities , and duration and training load , were varied . This made it hard for many of the reviewers to state categorically that any one type of activity was more beneficial . However , what was agreed across nearly all of the reviews was that exercise in the forms described was better than no exercises or other alternate therapies . The bottom line for all fitness professionals is to engage clients that suffer from low back pain in guided exercise , as approved by their medical professional . This should comprise exercises for the whole body that are conducted in a controlled and progressive fashion to challenge the client bit by bit over time within the functional and pain-free limitations they can manage .
Dr Mark McKean PhD AEP CSCS is an Associate Professor ( Adjunct ) in sport and exercise science at USC , QLD .
Exercise as an intervention results in significantly lower back pain than other treatments , or no treatment .
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