title: Comparison of the Efficacy of Different Long-term Interventions on Chronic Low Back Pain Using the Cross-sectional Area of the Multifidus Muscle and the Thickness of the Transversus Abdominis Muscle as Evaluation Indicators.
abstract: [Purpose] The purpose of this study was to examine the different effects of long-term intervention between proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) and neuromuscular joint facilitation (NJF) patterns for the pelvis on chronic low back pain as assessed by the cross-sectional area of the multifidus muscle and the thickness of the transversus abdominis muscle. [Subjects] The subjects were 12 young people (five males, seven females) who had experienced chronic low back pain on one side for more than 6 months. [Methods] The subjects were treated by resting, PNF or NJF therapy, and each treatment was administered for one month. Ultrasonography was used to measure the changes in the transversus abdominis muscle thickness and the multifidus muscle cross-sectional area. [Results] The thickness of the transversus abdominis muscle and the cross-sectional area of the multifidus muscle in the NJF group, after resting, increased significantly and were higher than those in the PNF group. [Conclusion] The results show that significantly better improvement can be obtained for chronic low back pain by applying long-term intervention of NJF patterns.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, International University of Health and Welfare, Japan ; Department of Physical Therapy, China Rehabilitation Center, China ; School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Capital Medical University, China.
authors.forename: Qiuchen
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, International University of Health and Welfare, Japan ; Department of Physical Therapy, China Rehabilitation Center, China ; School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Capital Medical University, China.
authors.forename: Desheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Xiluoyuan Community Health Service Center, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, China Rehabilitation Center, China ; School of Rehabilitation Medicine, Capital Medical University, China.
authors.forename: Degang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Himeji Dokkyo University, Japan.
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, International University of Health and Welfare, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maruyama
keywords: Long-term intervention; Low back pain; Neuromuscular joint facilitation (NJF)