Comparison of the effectiveness of functional tape, manual therapy and stereodynamic interference current in patients with chronic LOW back pain

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a social health problem that affects the quality of life (QoL) and sleep and causes kinesiophobia. The aim of our study is to evaluate various functional parameters of 88 patients who have CLBP. Patients aged between 20-50, who applied to 2 different hospitals with complaints of CLBP; divided into four as Group1, Group2, Group3 and Group4. Physical therapy (PT) program (Therapeutic Ultrasound+Hotpack+Massage+McKenzie Exercises) was applied to Group1 patients. PT program combined with functional taping was applied to Group2 patients. PT program combined with manual therapy were applied to Group3 patients. PT program combined with stereodynamic interferencial current were applied to Group4 patients. Patients were included in 10-session therapy program. Evaluation scales were applied to the patients before treatment, just after the treatment and 1 month later when the treatment ended. Sociodemographic data and pre-test evaluation scales showed that groups were homogeneously distributed (p>0.05). All groups showed significant difference in terms of treatment effectiveness in the within-group evaluation (p<0.01). Statistical results concluded that manual therapy and stereodynamic interferencial current are effective treatment methods for pain and functional taping for kinesiophobia (p<0.05). Treatment on QoL and sleep was found to be effective in all groups, but no significant difference was found between them (p>0.05). The results show the effectiveness of these treatments in CLBP. In terms of the level of evidence, more studies with longer follow-up are needed.