Kemmler Wolfgang, Weissenfels Anja, Bebenek Michael, Fröhlich Michael, Kleinöder Heinz, Kohl Matthias, von Stengel Simon
Institute of Medical Physics, Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Henkestrasse 91, 91052 Erlangen, Germany.
Department of Sports Science, University of Kaiserslautern, Erwin-Schrödinger-Strasse, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2017;2017:8480429. doi: 10.1155/2017/8480429. Epub 2017 Oct 18.
In order to evaluate the favorable effect of whole-body electromyostimulation (WB-EMS) on low back pain (LBP), an aspect which is frequently claimed by commercial providers, we performed a meta-analysis of individual patient data. The analysis is based on five of our recently conducted randomized controlled WB-EMS trials with adults 60 years+, all of which applied similar WB-EMS protocols (1.5 sessions/week, bipolar current, 16-25 min/session, 85 Hz, 350 s, and 4-6 s impulse/4 s impulse-break) and used the same pain questionnaire. From these underlying trials, we included only subjects with frequent-chronic LBP in the present meta-analysis. Study endpoints were pain intensity and frequency at the lumbar spine. In summary, 23 participants of the underlying WB-EMS and 22 subjects of the control groups (CG) were pooled in a joint WB-EMS and CG. At baseline, no group differences with respect to LBP intensity and frequency were observed. Pain intensity improved significantly in the WB-EMS ( < .001) and was maintained ( = .997) in the CG. LBP frequency decreased significantly in the WB-EMS ( < .001) and improved nonsignificantly in the CG ( = .057). Group differences for both LBP parameters were significant ( ≤ .035). We concluded that WB-EMS appears to be an effective training tool for reducing LBP; however, RCTs should further address this issue with more specified study protocols.
为了评估全身肌电刺激（WB-EMS）对下腰痛（LBP）的有益效果，这是商业供应商经常宣称的一个方面，我们对个体患者数据进行了荟萃分析。该分析基于我们最近进行的五项针对60岁及以上成年人的随机对照WB-EMS试验，所有试验都采用了相似的WB-EMS方案（每周1.5次，双极电流，每次16 - 25分钟，85赫兹，350秒，4 - 6秒脉冲/4秒脉冲间歇），并使用了相同的疼痛问卷。在本次荟萃分析中，我们仅纳入了患有频繁慢性下腰痛的受试者。研究终点是腰椎的疼痛强度和频率。总之，基础WB-EMS试验中的23名参与者和对照组的22名受试者被纳入联合的WB-EMS组和对照组。在基线时，未观察到两组在LBP强度和频率方面的差异。WB-EMS组的疼痛强度显著改善（<0.001），而对照组保持不变（=0.997）。WB-EMS组的LBP频率显著降低（<0.001），对照组无显著改善（=0.057）。两组LBP参数的差异均具有统计学意义（≤0.035）。我们得出结论，WB-EMS似乎是一种减轻LBP的有效训练工具；然而，随机对照试验应通过更具体的研究方案进一步解决这一问题。
