Can electrotherapy improve the effect of kinesio-functional exercises in the treatment of chronic non-specific low back pain?

ABSTRACT This study aimed to compare the effect of a Kinesio-functional exercise protocol (KFE) isolated or associated with Interferential Current (IC) or Aussie Current (AC) on pain intensity, mobility/flexibility, functionality, and quality of life (QoL) of individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain. This is a non-randomized clinical trial, in which 42 individuals were randomly divided into three groups: GI (KFE; n=14), GII (KFE+IC; n=14) and GIII (KFE+AC, n=14). The individuals underwent 10 treatment sessions (five weeks). The individuals were evaluated before and after the intervention, using the Pain visual analog scale (VAS); the assessment of QoL was conducted using the SF-36 questionnaire; the assessment of lumbar mobility/flexibility, by the modified Schober test and the Wells Bank; the assessment of functional disability, using the Oswestry Index; and for depressive aspects, the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was used. In the reassessment, we observed a significant improvement in all experimental groups regarding pain intensity (p