Effectiveness of muscle energy technique on pain intensity and disability in chronic low back patients: a systematic review

Abstract

Abstract Background Low back pain (LBP) is a highly prevalent musculoskeletal condition and causes activity limitations resulting in reduced productivity and high medical expenditure. Muscle energy technique (MET) is a therapeutic technique that has the potential to be successful in LBP, although the evidence for this notion is still inconclusive. The effectiveness of the muscular energy technique on pain intensity and disability for individuals with chronic low back pain was evaluated in published studies through this systematic review of the literature. Methods Studying the English language and humans, as well as scanning article reference lists from PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, the Cochrane Library, Ovid, ClinicalTrials.gov, and Embase, was searched until October 30, 2022. Randomised controlled studies reporting on the effectiveness of muscle energy technique on pain intensity and disability for chronic low back patients were included. Information related to demographics, number and duration of treatment, MET protocol, assessment tools used for pain and disability, and key findings was extracted. The Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) classification scale was used to assess the methodological quality of studies, and two authors assessed the risk of bias and extracted the data independently. Results Seventeen research studies (including 817 participants) were retrieved and included for qualitative analysis. The studies published between 2011 and 2022 were retrieved, and the sample size ranged from 10 to one hundred twenty-five participants. The age of the subjects ranged between 18 and 60 years, and interventions were done between 2 days and 12 weeks. Of the included 17 studies, five were from Egypt, four were from India, two each from Iran and Nigeria, and one each from Brazil, Poland, Thailand, and Pakistan. Compared to other interventions or the control groups, MET was found to significantly, although modestly, decrease the severity of pain and reduce functional disability in patients with chronic LBP. Most of the included studies had moderate to high study quality. Conclusion In patients with chronic low back pain (CLBP), it was observed that MET alone as well as in conjunction with other interventions was found to be beneficial in reducing pain intensity, improving lumbar spine range of motion, and decreasing the degree of functional disability.