Comparison of the effect of lumbar segmental stabilization exercises and general exercises on radiologic criterias and clinical findings in patients with grade I spondylolisthesis

Abstract

Background and aim: The displacement of a vertebral body on another one is called spondylolisthesis. Olisthesis may occur in the anterior, posterior, or lateral directions; but the word spondylolisthesis is usually used to anterior displacement of the vertebrea.The effects of various physiotherapy protocols on patients with spondylolisthesis have examined by limited clinical trials. The aim of this study was to comparison of the effect of lumbar segmental stabilization exercises and general exercises on radiologic criteria and clinical findings in patients with grade I spondylolisthesis. Methods: This study is a single blind randomized clinical trial with test-retest design and parallel groups. The patients with grade I spondylolisthesis in L4-L5 segment were randomly assigned into experimental and control group. Pain, functional disability, kinesiophobia, translational motion, angular motion and slip percentage were evaluated Results: A total of 120 people were recruited to this study; finally, 26 subjects completed the study.In intragroup comparison, in experimental group, there was statistically significant difference for pain (P=0.000), functional disability (P=0.004), kinesiophobia (P=0.002), translational motion (P=0.036) and and angular motion (P=0.011). There was no statistically significant difference for slip percentage (P=0.122) in this group. In control group, statistically significant difference was seen for pain (P=0.043) and functional disability (P=0.002). Significant difference was not seen for other variables in control group. In intergroup comparison, there was no statistically significant difference for any variables except kinesiophobia (P=0.040) between groups.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that exercises therapy has a significant effect on the improvement of pain and functional disability in patients with grade I spondylolisthesis. Segmental stabilization exercises are better than general exercises in improving the kinesiophobia of patients and intervertebral motions of the pathologic segment. Therefore, it is suggested that stabilizing exercises could be used as an effective and safe method, with acceptable results in management of patients with grade I spondylolisthesis.