Effectiveness of Manual Therapy for Patients with Low Back Pain from the Perspective of Physical and Psychosocial Factors

Abstract

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Arthrokinematic Approach (AKA)-Hakata method for patients with low back pain (LBP). Methods: The subjects were 39 patients with LBP who visited a medical facility between June 1, 2022 and November 30, 2022. The intervention period was 8 weeks with 5 treatment sessions, and patient assessments were performed using the patient self-reported majors of LBP and motor function assessment. Results: The AKA-Hakata method showed significant differences in all items evaluated in the longitudinal comparison of patients. In addition, an interaction was observed only in the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire between the two groups classified using the Subgrouping for Targeted Treatment Back Screening Tool. Conclusions: The results of this study show that treatment with the AKA-Hakata method may have an early therapeutic effect on physical and psychosocial risks in daily life. The results of this study indicate that the AKA-Hakata method is effective in the treatment of LBP. However, this study evaluated a relatively short treatment period of five sessions and did not examine long-term treatment effects. Further research is needed to optimize the treatment duration in detail and to investigate the effectiveness of the AKA-Hakata method.