A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE MCKENZIE METHOD AND STANDARD MANUAL THERAPY FOR LOW BACK PAIN: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Low back pain is most common disorder which causes pain and limits our daily activities. It is estimated that upto 80% of people experienced low back pain. Low back pain often arise from poor posture, repetitive strain or spinal dysfunctions. Physiotherapy play a role in it with several treatment approaches. In which mckenzie and manual therapy techniques are mostly used to reduce pain improve function. The Mckenzie technique also known as MDT (Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy in which there are repeated movements to centralized the pain.On the other hand Manual Therapy involves mobilization and manipulation techniques to relieve the pain and restore normal joint mechanics.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of McKenzie technique with Maitland in treating low back pain.

METHODS: Randomized Control trail study registered by the ClinicalTrials.gov under the registration number NCTNCT06955117. Total 52 participants with low back pain were taken and were divided into two groups, with 26 each group. One group was treated with Mckenzie, and the other group was treated with Maitland therapy. Outcome measures included the numeric pain rating scale(NPRS)for pain intensity, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for functional disability and lumbar Range of Motion (ROM) measured by goniometer. Data was analyzed using statistical test.

RESULTS: Mckenzie Group showed greater improvement in all outcome measure as compared to the Manual Therapy group. Both the treatment groups showed significant improvements in pain intensity, disability score and lumbar range of motion following the intervention(p˂0.05).

CONCLUSION: The findings in the study suggest that Mckenzie technique have more effect than manual therapy in reducing pain and improve functional ability in patient with low back pain.It can be recommended approach for treating low back pain