Efficacy of perceptive rehabilitation in the treatment of chronic nonspecific low back pain through a new tool: a randomized clinical study

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a perceptive rehabilitative approach, based on a new device, with regard to pain and disability in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain.Design: Single blind, randomized, controlled trial.Setting: An outpatient academic hospital.Patients: Seventy-five patients with chronic low back pain.Interventions: Patients were randomized into three groups. Twenty-five subjects received 10 sessions in one month, based on specific perceptive exercises that were performed on a suitably developed device. Twenty-five patients entered a Back School programme. Twenty-five patients comprised a control group that received the same medical and pharmacological assistance as the other groups.Main outcome measures: Pain was assessed using the Visual Analogue Scale and McGill Pain Questionnaire. Disability was evaluated using the Oswestry Disability Index and Waddell Disability Index. All measurements were recorded before treatment, at the end of the study, and at 12 and 24 weeks.Re...