EFFECT OF FOAM ROLLING VERSUS MUSCLE ENERGY TECHNIQUE IN ILIOSACRAL DYSFUNCTION AMONG CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN PATIENTS

Pain in the sacroiliac joint is the most prevalent and often overlooked. The sacroiliac joints are thought to be sources of pain in roughly 15% to 30% of patients with chronic lower back pain. Due to the biomechanical nature of the joint, muscle imbalance is the most important cause of sacroiliac joint dysfunction. There are many studies that look at the treatment approaches separately, none have specifically focused on the ilio-sacral muscle level approach and compared the effects of Foam Rolling and Muscle Energy Technique when used as an adjuvant therapy with conventional physiotherapy treatment to improve pain, and function in Chronic low back pain. Hence, the purpose of this study is to find the effect of Foam Roller versus Muscle energy technique on iliosacral dysfunction among chronic low back patients.
Thirty-eight patients with iliosacral dysfunction (17 males and 21 females), aged 20-40, were randomly assigned to two groups. Group FR received the Foam Rolling, and Group MET received the Muscle Energy Technique and conventional physiotherapy treatment were given to both groups. Both interventions were administered for a period of 2 weeks. Primary Outcome measures were included pain (Visual Analog scale), pressure-pain threshold (Pressure Algometer), and Function. The Secondary Outcome includeed Leg Length Discrepancy and Quality of life (EuroQol-5 Dimension). Evaluations were conducted at three time points: baseline (day 1), post-intervention (at the end of 2 weeks), and Follow-up (after 4 weeks to check the carry-over effect). In conclusion, both Foam Rolling and Muscle Energy Technique as an adjunct to conventional physiotherapy are effective rehabilitation methods for improving pain, function, leg length discrepancy, and overall quality of life on iliosacral dysfunction among chronic low back patients.

骶髂关节疼痛是最为常见且常被忽视的疼痛类型。据推测，约15%至30%的慢性下腰痛患者的疼痛源于骶髂关节。由于该关节的生物力学特性，肌肉失衡是引发骶髂关节功能障碍的最主要原因。现有诸多研究分别探讨了不同的治疗方案，但尚无研究专门聚焦于髂骶肌层面的干预方式，也未对比泡沫轴放松（Foam Rolling）与肌肉能量技术（Muscle Energy Technique）作为常规物理治疗的辅助疗法时，对慢性下腰痛患者疼痛与功能改善的效果差异。因此，本研究旨在探讨泡沫轴放松与肌肉能量技术分别应用于慢性下腰痛伴骶髂关节功能障碍患者的干预效果。
本研究共纳入38例骶髂关节功能障碍患者（男17例，女21例），年龄区间为20至40岁，采用随机分组法将其分为两组。FR组接受泡沫轴放松联合常规物理治疗，MET组则接受肌肉能量技术联合常规物理治疗，两组干预周期均为2周。主要结局指标包括疼痛程度（视觉模拟评分法（Visual Analog Scale））、压痛阈值（压力测痛仪（Pressure Algometer））以及功能状态。次要结局指标包括下肢长度差与生活质量（欧洲五维健康量表（EuroQol-5 Dimension））。分别在三个时间点开展评估：基线期（第1天）、干预结束时（2周疗程结束当日）以及随访期（干预结束后4周，以评估干预效果的持续效应）。综上，泡沫轴放松与肌肉能量技术作为常规物理治疗的辅助手段，均为改善慢性下腰痛伴骶髂关节功能障碍患者疼痛、功能、下肢长度差及整体生活质量的有效康复方法。