Impact of selected magnetic fields on the therapeutic effect in patients with lumbar discopathy: A prospective, randomized, single-blinded, and placebo-controlled clinical trial.

BACKGROUND

Interdisciplinary physical therapy together with pharmacological treatment constitute conservative treatment strategies related to low back pain (LBP). There is still a lack of high quality studies aimed at an objective evaluation of physiotherapeutic procedures according to their effectiveness in LBP.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study is to carry out a prospective, randomized, single-blinded, and placebocontrolled clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of magnetic fields in discopathy-related LBP.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A group of 177 patients was assessed for eligibility based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. In the end, 106 patients were randomly assigned into 5 comparative groups: A (n = 23; magnetic therapy: 10 mT, 50 Hz); B (n = 23; magnetic therapy: 5 mT, 50 Hz); C (n = 20; placebo magnetic therapy); D (n = 20; magnetic stimulation: 49.2 μT, 195 Hz); and E (n = 20; placebo magnetic stimulation). All patients were assessed using tests for pain intensity, degree of disability and range of motion. Also, postural stability was assessed using a stabilographic platform.

RESULTS

In this study, positive changes in all clinical outcomes were demonstrated in group A (p < 0.05). The most effective clinical effect was observed for pain reduction (p < 0.05), improvement of the range of motion (p < 0.05) and functional ability of the spine (p <0.05). It is also worth noting that the effects in the majority of the measured indicators were mostly short-term (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

It was determined that the application of magnetic therapy (10 mT, 50 Hz, 20 min) significantly reduces pain symptoms and leads to an improvement of functional ability in patients with LBP.