An experimental controlled study on postural sway and therapeutic exercise in subjects with low back pain

Objectives: To describe postural sway and its associations to background factors, low back pain and functional capacity. To evaluate the changes in postural sway after three months of therapeutic exercise in the gym or at home. Design: A one-year randomized experimental trial evaluated postural sway in three study groups: intensive training, home exercise and control group. Setting: Subjects were recruited from seven local occupational health care centres in Central Finland and were examined at Central Finland Hospital by medical doctors. Measurements and therapeutic exercise programmes were carried out in the Research Laboratory of Sport and Health Sciences at Jyväskylä University. Subjects: Initially, 49 male and 41 female subjects (aged 20–55 years) with nonspecific and subacute low back pain were examined. Main outcome measures: Postural sway using a force platform, the Oswestry Index, as well as a measure of low back pain intensity were measured at the initial stage of the study, directly after interventions, as well as at three and nine months after the interventions. Results: The background variables were not strongly correlated with postural sway. No changes occurred in the amplitude of sway during the study, but the sway velocity of the home exercise group increased. Conclusions: Postural sway measurements with a force platform may be suitable for detecting impairments of balance performance among subjects with pronounced functional or activity limitations and severe low back pain problems. In order to enhance balance performance, specific and customized exercise programmes are required.