engleski

Breathing exercises and low back pain: a review.

Non-specific low back pain (nLBP) is among the leading causes of physician visits and sick leave in the adult population. Among its causal factors, epidemiological evidence suggests a connection between respiratory difficulties and LBP (1). Proposed underlying physiological mechanisms include impaired postural control and decreased tissue oxygenation leading to increased pain (2). The effect of breathing exercises on nLBP is not well understood. Our aim was to review the results of the studies that investigated the effect of breathing exercises and/or respiratory muscle training (RMT) on nLBP. The databases MEDLINE, CINHAL and PEDro were searched using the key words ‘breathing AND low back pain’. A total of 60 articles were found. The inclusion criteria for final analysis were: a) randomized controlled trials, b) adult participants with nLBP, c) the intervention included breathing exercises and/or RMT, and d) the outcome measures included pain level and/or functional status. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria. Three studies showed significant reduction in LBP severity after: high intensity RMT (3), breath therapy (4) and respiratory biofeedback treatment (5). Four studies (6-9) showed significant reduction in pain, but since the breathing exercises were applied as part of a combined therapy intervention, we cannot conclude on their individual effectiveness. In conclusion, the evidence on the effect of breathing exercises on nLBP is still scarce. The existing studies, although heterogeneous in methodological quality, indicate a potential significant positive effect. Further welldesigned studies are needed to elucidate the effectiveness of this low-cost treatment option for nLBP. References 1. Smith et al. (2006). Aust J Physiother 52:11-6. 2. McLaughlin et al. (2011). Man Ther 16:51-2. 3. Janssens et al. (2015). Med Sci Sports Exerc 47:12–9. 4. Mehling et al. (2005). Altern Ther Health Med 11:44-52. 5. Kapitza et al. (2010). Appl Psychophysiol Biofeedback 35:207–17. 6. Szczurko et al. (2007). PLoS ONE 2(9): e919. 7. Tekur et al. (2008). J Altern Complement Med 14:637–44. 8. Magklara et al. (2015). Arch Hellenic Med 32:583–91. 9. Rani et al. (2016). J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil [Epub ahead of print]

oxygenation; back pain; kinesitherapy

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