One session of motor control exercise improves joint position sense assessed by an iPhone application: a randomized controlled trial.
Peemongkon Wattananon, Wanalee Klomjai, Won Sung
PMID 31417226WHAT IT FOUND
In healthy adults, the exercise group did not outperform the control group at any tested angle.
One 30-minute motor control exercise session reduced errors at target bend angles of 45° and 60° within the exercise group, not at 30°.
Key findings
01The exercise and control groups did not differ in absolute repositioning error at any time point or angle.
02The exercise group showed reduced absolute repositioning errors from pre-test to post-test at 45° and 60°, while the control group showed no reported significant change.
03The iPhone application measurement showed excellent test-retest reliability, but the full testing protocol showed good test-retest reliability.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The participants were healthy adults with no low back pain, so the findings do not show what happens in patients with low back pain. The exercise group did not differ from the control group at any angle, so the study does not show that motor control exercise was better than rest. Participants and therapists were not blinded. The control group rested for 15 minutes, while the exercise group exercised for 30 minutes, so the two conditions were not matched in time or activity. Only immediate testing after one session was done, so there is no information about lasting effects. The groups differed in age and gender at baseline, although baseline lumbar range of motion and repositioning errors were similar. The full testing protocol had only good test-retest reliability, so small changes may be hard to interpret. Participants were recruited from a university community, so they may not represent clinical populations.
Declared interests
The study was funded partly by the Thailand Research Fund and the Mahidol University Talent Management Program. The authors declared no conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that motor control exercise is better than rest for low back pain. The participants were healthy adults, the exercise group did not outperform the control group at any angle, and improvement was only seen within the exercise group immediately after one session at 45° and 60°.