Effectiveness of motor control exercises with and without whole-body vibration on pain, postural stability, and trunk muscle activation in individuals with nonspecific low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.

In 30 seconds

This randomized controlled trial compared motor control exercises alone, motor control exercises combined with whole-body vibration, and a control condition in 75 females with nonspecific low back pain. Participants in both exercise groups completed three sessions weekly for 8 weeks. After intervention, both groups showed reduced pain and center-of-pressure path length in anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions, alongside increased trunk muscle activation during a freestyle lifting task (p < 0.05). No measured outcome differed significantly between the two exercise groups at post-test (p > 0.05), although the authors describe a slight additional pain reduction with vibration.

Key findings

• Both exercise groups had reduced pain and center-of-pressure path length in both directions, and increased muscle activation (p < 0.05).
• No post-test outcome differed significantly between motor control exercises alone and exercises combined with vibration (p > 0.05).
• The authors report a slight additional pain reduction with vibration, without a significant between-group difference in measured outcomes.

Why it matters

The findings suggest that structured motor control exercise may improve pain, postural stability, and trunk muscle activation in females with nonspecific low back pain. The lack of significant differences between exercise approaches indicates that adding whole-body vibration did not demonstrate clear additional benefit across the measured outcomes, which is relevant when considering the role of an adjunct intervention.

What to keep in mind

The study included only females, and outcomes were assessed before and after an 8-week intervention; longer-term effects are not reported in the abstract.