Chronic low back pain in fast bowlers a comparative study of core spinal stabilization and conventional exercises

Abstract

[Purpose] Fast bowlers are very prone to low back pain. Due to persistence of chronic low back pain (cLBP) fast bowlers suffer disturbances in their daily living and sports specific activities that lead to functional disability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of spinal core stabilization exercises on the pain intensity and the functional activity of fast bowlers. [Subjects] Thirty male fast bowlers with cLBP with a mean age of 20.79 ± 2.08 years [Methods] Subjects were screened for this study by using inclusion and exclusion criteria. Experimental and control groups (n=15 in each group) received core stabilization exercises and conventional lumbar flexion-extension exercises respectively. The total study duration of the interventions was 8 weeks. The outcome variables used were the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to measure pain and the Oswestry low back pain disability questionnaire (OLBPDQ) to measure functional disability. [Results] The results showed significant functional improvement (post OLBPDQ score) and decreased pain intensity (VAS score) in both the groups but the experimental group which received spinal core stabilization exercises showed more significant improvements than the control group. [Conclusion] We conclude that the incorporation of spinal core stabilization exercises in the management of chronic low back pain would have better results than conventional exercises for cases of cLBP in fast bowlers.