Effectiveness of a home based therapeutic exercise program on lower back pain and functionality in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) patients
Objective To investigate the effectiveness of a home based therapeutic exercise program on lower back pain and functionality of SCD patients. Setting A Hematology and Transfusion Medicine Center, University of Campinas (HEMOCENTRO UNICAMP) Methods This was a prospective study, with a three month follow up of SCD patients with lower back pain. The lumbar spine functionality was evaluated by questionnaires, trunk flexion and extension analyses by fiber optic electrogoniometry and measurements of muscle strength of trunk flexor and extensors. The Intervention Group (IG) comprised 18 volunteers, median age 44y (28 58) and the control group (CG) comprised 15 volunteers, median age 42y (19 58) who did not perform exercises. The protocol consisted of daily home based exercises with two evaluations: at the beginning and end of a three month program. In order to compare the groups at baseline, the Fisher's exact test and Mann Whitney test were used for categorical and numeric variables, respectively. The Wilcoxon test was used for related samples comparing numeric measures of each group over time with a 5% (p 0.05) significance level. Results After the intervention, patients demonstrated a significant improvement, according to the Visual Analog Scale (VAS; p 0.01) Rolland Morris Disability questionnaire (RMDQ; p 0.01) and trunk flexion and extension muscle strength (p 0.01) No significant differences were found for the Start Back Screening Tool Brazil (SBST) and in measures of trunk flexion and extension range of motion (RoM) Conclusion Results suggest that daily home based exercises for a three month period ameliorate pain and improve disability related to lower back pain and muscle strength.
Hematology, transfusion and cell therapy