Effects of 10-weeks strength training program on pain intensity, muscle endurance and kinesophobia in patients with non-specific low back pain

The purpose of this study was to establish the effects of a 10-week strength training program on pain intensity reduction, muscle endurance and kinesophobia in patients with non-specific LBP in a tertiary health institution. This study was a pre-test, post-test control group design. A total of 53 patients with LBP participated successfully in the study. The anthropometric parameters were taken and pain intensity was measured using a visual analog scale in which the participants’ response to the level of pain was recorded; the fear of movement was measured with Tampa scale kinesiophobia Questionnaire and the muscle endurance with Sorensen back muscle endurance test for both the control and experimental groups before and following a 10-week muscle strength training program. Descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation were used to summarize the anthropometric profile of the participants while inferential statistics of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. The outcome of this study indicated that factors such as pain intensity and muscle endurance were found to significantly respond to muscle strength training program, and kinesiophobia did not significantly respond. It was concluded that muscle strength training program can substantially reduce the pain and increase the muscle endurance of patients with LBP. The study, therefore, revealed that the lumbar muscle strength training program is a key element in improving the pain and muscle endurance of patients with LBP.