509 Motor control exercise similar to other forms of exercise for chronic non-specific low-back pain

June 09, 2017

written by Brian R McAvoy.

Clinical question
How effective is motor control exercise in patients with chronic non-specific low-back pain?

Bottom line
Although the quality of evidence varied among the outcomes and time periods investigated, there was low to moderate quality evidence that motor control exercise was more effective than a minimal intervention for chronic non-specific low-back pain. There was very low to low quality evidence that motor control exercise was more effective than exercise plus electrophysical agents. There was moderate to high quality evidence that motor control exercise provided similar outcomes to manual therapies and low to moderate quality evidence that it provided similar outcomes to other forms of exercise. As motor control exercise is safe and not superior to other forms of exercise, the choice of exercise for chronic non-specific low-back pain should depend on patient or therapist preferences, therapist training, costs and safety.

Caveat
Although there were concerns about the quality of evidence for some outcomes, there was at least moderate quality evidence for the primary outcomes.

Context
Motor control exercise focuses on the activation of the deep trunk muscles and targets the restoration of control and coordination of these muscles, progressing to more complex and functional tasks integrating the activation of deep and global trunk muscles.

Cochrane Systematic Review
Saragiotto et al. Motor control exercise for chronic non-specific low-back pain. Cochrane Reviews, 2016, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD012004.DOI: 10.1002/14651858. CD012004. This review contains 29 studies involving 2,431 participants.

Pearls are an independent product of the Cochrane primary care group and are meant for educational use and not to guide clinical care.