Influence of structural integration and fascial fitness on body image and the perception of back pain.
Heidi Baur, Hannes Gatterer, Barbara Hotter and 1 others
PMID 28626311WHAT IT FOUND
Three weekly Structural Integration sessions lowered back pain on a 10 cm scale from 2.9 to 1.8.
Fascial Fitness pain fell from 2.5 to 1.6, but that change was not reliable. Both groups felt less negatively about their bodies; only Structural Integration improved energy and movement.
Key findings
01After the 3-week intervention, the Structural Integration group's mean back pain score on a 10 cm scale fell from 2.9 to 1.8, while the Fascial Fitness group fell from 2.5 to 1.6; only the Structural Integration change was significant.
02Negative body image improved in both groups, with scores changing from 1.67 to 1.45 in Structural Integration and from 2.25 to 1.93 in Fascial Fitness, and no significant difference between groups.
03Vital body dynamics improved only in the Structural Integration group, with scores changing from 3.63 to 3.94; the Fascial Fitness group changed from 3.29 to 3.40 but not significantly.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
There was no untreated group or placebo control, so a placebo effect cannot be ruled out. Participants were unblinded because they knew whether they received manual therapy or exercise. The sample was small, and 2 participants in the Structural Integration group and 1 in the Fascial Fitness group dropped out. Pain scores were lower than in many clinical back pain studies, so these participants were not typical clinical patients. The intervention lasted only 3 weeks, and the authors note that fascial adaptation may need at least 6 months. Ten participants were doing additional back exercise routines at the time of the study, which may confound attribution to the assigned intervention. People seeking treatment for pain may have expected improvement, which could influence self-reported outcomes.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that either treatment is proven to reduce back pain. There was no untreated or placebo control group, participants knew their treatment, and the Fascial Fitness pain change did not meet the study's threshold for a reliable effect.