Abstract

Background Stretching for iliopsoas muscles is commonly performed for patients with non-specific low back pain, which tends to be provoked by extension-related movements. However, it is unclear whether stretching can immediately alter lumbopelvic-hip kinematics of patients during gait. Aim To investigate immediate effects of active static stretching for iliopsoas muscles on lumbopelvic-hip kinematics of patients with non-specific low back pain. Methods This study was a randomised controlled trial in a laboratory setting. Ten male young patients (age 20.6 ± 0.7, body mass index 22.8 ± 2.4) with non-specific low back pain provoked by lumbar extension related movements participated in this study. All participants had reduced bilateral hip extension according to modified Thomas test. Active static stretching was performed for one out of the two limbs (20 s, three times). The other sides served as a control group. A six-camera Vicon motion-analysis system was used to measure peak ranges of hip extension, pelvic anterior tilt and rotation, and lumbar extension and rotation during gait. Results Both two groups did not show any significant change in lumbopelvic-hip kinematics after stretching or control interventions. Between-group comparisons showed no significant difference in any outcome measures in terms of p values. However, our additional analysis using effect sizes implied a significantly greater increase in peak lumbar rotation angle in the stretching group compared to the control group. Conclusions This study suggests that a single set of active static stretching might not immediately improve hip extension or reduce lumbopelvic movements of patients with non-specific low back pain during gait. Further study with better methodological rigour is required to test the inconclusive findings in this study.

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