The treatment effect of hamstring stretching and nerve mobilization for patients with radicular lower back pain.
Ju-Hyun Lee, Tae-Ho Kim
PMID 28931991WHAT IT FOUND
After three weeks of treatment, given after the same heat and interference-wave therapy, nerve mobilization reduced pain more than hamstring stretching on a 0-10 scale.
Pressure threshold, knee extension and disability improved in both groups, with no clear difference between them.
Key findings
01Pain scores fell from 5.6 to 1.4 in the nerve mobilization group and from 5.4 to 2.1 in the hamstring stretching group on a 0-10 scale, with a greater reported reduction in the nerve mobilization group.
02Both groups received superficial thermal treatment for 20 minutes and interference wave treatment for 15 minutes before the assigned intervention, so the separate effect of hamstring stretching or nerve mobilization cannot be isolated.
03Pressure threshold, knee extension angle and disability improved in both groups, but the two groups did not differ clearly on these outcomes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Twenty-two participants is small, so the result should be treated as tentative. Both groups received superficial thermal treatment and interference wave treatment before the assigned intervention, so the separate effect of hamstring stretching or nerve mobilization cannot be isolated. The paper does not state which outcome was primary. The paper reports measurements before and after the three-week intervention; it does not report later follow-up. Participants were outpatients aged 20 to 50 with radicular lower back pain, so the results may not apply to older patients or those with non-radicular low back pain.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that nerve mobilization alone is superior to hamstring stretching. Both groups received superficial thermal treatment and interference wave treatment before their assigned intervention, so the separate contribution of each component cannot be separated. The only clear difference between the groups was for pain; pressure threshold, knee extension angle and disability did not differ clearly, and the study had only 22 participants.