Therapeutic effect and mechanism of functional training in patients with lumbar disc herniation

doi:10.3321/j.issn:1673-8225.2004.32.011

Abstract：BACKGROUND: Physical treatment got used to be claimed for lumbar disc herniation(LDH) therapy. Combination of passive and initiative treatment was gradually attention-getting at home and abroad, early initiative functional training may have obvious effects on symptoms such as functional recovery,pain release, and anaesthesia in LDHpatients.OBJECTIVE: To improve clinical symptom of LDH patients using functional training and other methods, and to explore the mechanism.DESIGN: Pre-post comparison experiment.SETTING and PARTICIPANTS: One hundred LDH patients, 57 males and 43 females, aged 16 - 72 years were selected from Liaoning College of Traditional Chinese Medicine from May 2000 to May 2003.INTERVENTIONS: Initiative functional training: holding exercise. Hold on to some objects, after bending oneself (bending the waist)about three or four rounds, the time and intensity were self-controlled. Passive training methods:functional training under doctor directions or by assistance of auxiliaries manipulated conditions.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Therapeutic effect evaluating results and imageology changes.RESULTS: Eighty two cases were with improved lumbar and lower extremity anaesthesia, straight-leg raise over 70°, physical curvature almost recovered. and being competent enough for their job; 12 better cases were present as essentially vanished symptom, yet with slightly residual low back pain as well as lateral leg anesthesia and pain, but can insist on their job; 6 were ineffective without apparent changes in symptom and physical sign. Total effective rate was 94%. Results of functional training or before and after treatments showed that there were no significant changes in CT examination.CONCLUSION: The therapeutic effect of functional training on the syndrome of LDH can be apparently improved. Therapeutic effect assessment might not be mainly based on results of CT, but on symptoms and signs.