Journal of Orthopedics

Comparative Study

THE ROLE OF CORE TRAINING DURING THE REHABILITATION OF CHRONIC LOW BACK PAIN IN FOOTBALL PLAYERS

E. Rexha1 , K. Kapedani1

1 Sports University of Tirana, Albanian University, Tirana, Albania

Correspondence to:

Ergys Rexha, PhD
Sports University of Tirana,
Albanian University,
Tirana, Albania

Journal of Orthopedics 2024 May-August; 16(2): 57-66


Received: 29 July 2024 Accepted: 26 August 2024

Copyright © by LAB srl 2024 ISSN 1973-6401 (print) / 3035-2916 (online)
This publication and/or article is for individual use only and may not be further reproduced without written permission from the copyright holder. Unauthorized reproduction may result in financial and other penalties. Disclosure: All authors report no conflicts of interest relevant to this article.

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Abstract

Management of Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP) is often multidisciplinary and involves a combination of treatments, including instrumental physiotherapy and therapeutic exercises. Core stability exercises aim to improve pain and disability in CLBP by enhancing spinal stability, neuromuscular control, and preventing shear forces that cause damage to the lumbar spine. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of combining instrumental physiotherapy with core stability exercises in order to reduce pain and improve limited functional capacity. This study was conducted at the “Orthomed Sport” physiotherapy clinic between January and July 2024. The participants were professional football players diagnosed with chronic lumbago, who had been prescribed instrumental physiotherapy by an orthopedic doctor for a two-week period. The participants were divided into two groups: group A and group B. Participants in group A underwent only the instrumental physiotherapy prescribed by the doctor for a two-week period. Participants in group B, in addition to the instrumental therapy, also performed core stability exercises three times a week for a period of 6 weeks. Following the study, core stability was found to be effective in improving outcomes after re-evaluation through physiotherapy. This study highlighted the reduction in CLBP in patients who incorporated core training exercises into their rehabilitation phase. This treatment effectively reduces the activation time of the stabilizing model that we aim for. Combining core stability exercises with other exercise modalities appears to lead to greater improvements in pain and disability compared to using any single treatment alone.

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