A Study on the Effect of Manual Therapy on Physical Function Improvement in Middle-Aged Women with Lumbago

Abstract

Most people experience lumbago at least once in their lifetime. In particular, it was found that lumbago prevalence was high in women experiencing pregnancy and childbirth. However, lumbago is difficult to be cured and has a high recurrence rate. This study, accordingly, investigated the effects of easily-accessible manual therapy on lumbago and physical function in middle-aged women. Subjects were randomly assigned to an experimental group to receive manual therapy and a control group to receive hyperthermia, and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and joint range of motion were measured and analyzed. The results showed a positive effect on physical function improvement and back pain reduction in the experimental group to which manual therapy was applied, supporting that manual therapy is an alternative therapy that can help reduce lumbago and improve physical function in middle-aged women.