ABSTRACT
Objective
This study aimed to evaluate the impact of adding the Mézières Method (MM) to the standard rehabilitation protocol for the elite athletes with low back pain (LBP) in reducing lumbar pain rather than only using the traditional rehabilitation protocol treatment. The disciplines considered in this study were soccer, rhythmic gymnastics, and basketball.
Design
Randomized controlled trial.
Setting
Training Camp.
Participants
One hundred and thirty-nine elite athletes with low back pain of whom 69 were assigned to the experimental group.
Intervention
The intervention consists of treatment with three lying postures in a 40-minute-long session twice a week. The session's goal was to focus on breathing exercises, spine mobility, and stretching of the back muscles, with particular attention to the diaphragmatic, paravertebral, and latissimus dorsi muscles.
Outcome measures
Assessments such as Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), Sit and Reach flexibility test, Roland-Morris Questionnaire, and health status questionnaire (SF12) were used.
Results
The evaluation of all outcomes in four measurement periods of the study (baseline, 4, 12, and 24 weeks) showed a significant difference between the groups. Also, at the 6 months of the intervention, a significant difference in the means (SD) was observed in pain (VAS), back flexibility (Sit & Reach) and back disability (QRM) outcomes in favor of the experimental group with a medium-large effect size compared with the control group.
Conclusion
The MM approach can also be applied to established conventional protocols to alleviate pain and functionality. The obtained results include improving the quality of life of the athletes and their physical and emotional states.
Transparency statements
Declaration of funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Disclosure of any financial/other conflicts of interest
The authors have no conflict of interest to report. Peer reviewers for this manuscript have no competing interests to declare.
Ethical Approval
This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Catholic University of Murcia “San Antonio” with protocol No. 6572 Clinical trial registration number ID: NCT03849053.
Acknowledgements
None stated.