A Comparison of 6 Weeks of Aquatic Exercise and Kinesio Taping in Patients With Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain

Abstract

Context: In many societies, although chronic low back pain (LBP) is a significant problem, there is no consensus on the optimal therapeutic intervention.

Objective: To compare the impact of aquatic exercise (AE) and kinesio taping (KT) on the pain intensity and functional incapacity in women with chronic nonspecific LBP.

Design: Randomized controlled trial.

Setting: Outpatient clinic.

Participants: Thirty-six women with chronic nonspecific LBP (mean [SD]: age = 50.69 [4.187] y) participated.

Interventions: Participants randomly assigned to AE (n = 12), KT (n = 12), and nontreatment control (n = 12) groups for 6 weeks.

Main outcome measures: Pain intensity and functional disability were evaluated at baseline and the end of the intervention.

Results: Pain intensity decreased more in the AE group than in the KT group (5.9-0.5 cm [91.6% decrease] vs 5.7-2.4 cm [58.1% decrease], respectively; P < .001 for both after Bonferroni post hoc test); the values decreased more in the 2 treatment groups than in the control group (P < .001 for between-group comparisons). Disability decreased more in the AE group (43.2%-18.8% [55.6% decrease]) than the KT group (37.8%-19.3% [48.3% decrease]) (P < .001 for both comparisons), but increased in the control group (38.7%-41.2% [6.5% increase]; P = .045).

Conclusion: These results suggest AE and KT treatment methods provide pain intensity and disability improvements in women with chronic nonspecific LBP. Nevertheless, AE was more effective than KT.

Keywords: aquatic therapy; functional disability; kinesio tape; randomized controlled trial.