Effects of Core Strengthening on Mechanical Low Back Pain in Overweight Adults.

Low back pain (LBP) is defined as low back pain that keep on for more than 3 months, and it is the most commonly reported clinical symptom of orthopedic diseases. Low back pain has been the leading cause of disability globally for at least the past three decades and results in enormous direct healthcare and lost productivity costs. More than 50% of people in the United States are affected by LBP, and it is the primary cause of work nonappearance and everlasting disability. The core muscles, which are the primary muscle group for maintaining spinal strength, can be separated into two groups according to their functions and attributes.

The origin of LBP is complex, several of which are unidentified. Management of chronic low back pain (CLBP) is often multidisciplinary, involving a combination of treatments, including therapeutic exercises. Core stability exercises aim to improve pain and disability in CLBP increasing spinal stability, neuromuscular control, and preventing shear force that causes injury to the lumbar spine. One major cause involves the weakening of the shallow trunk and abdominal muscles. Another cause of CLBP is the deteriorating of or insufficient motor control of the deep trunk muscles, such as the lumbar multifidus and transversus abdominis. Lumbar multifidus (LM), the main trunk stabilization muscle, may have reduced efficiency 24 h after the onset of acute LBP.

During physical activities, the trunk muscle tissues ensure the mobility and stability of the lumbopelvic region; thus, changes in trunk muscle activity (particularly in the lumbar multifidus and transversus abdominis) are typically observed in patients with low back pain. Stabilization exercise programs have been widely applied for LBP treatment because they were effective in reducing LBP and disability. Core strength training is directed at working out the deep trunk muscles. However, autonomous training is challenging for LBP patients despite the existence of numerous core strength training strategies. Furthermore, no standardized system has been established for analyzing and comparing the results of core strength training and typical resistance training (6).

Core strengthening impression have gained increased popularity in low back rehabilitation. Traditional low back pain rehabilitation is based on a stationary spine stability model and is composed mostly of modalities, stretching and strengthening exercises (7). More recent theories, however, include newer concepts of dynamic spinal stability, coordination and neuromuscular control. Core strengthening exercises incorporate these new concepts. Although more research is required, the best available evidence suggests that a core strengthening program may be advantageous in reducing pain scores, functional disability and recurrences of acute low back pain episodes. Strong clinical and emerging epidemiological evidence shows that muscle-strengthening exercises is independently associated with multiple health outcomes, including a reduced risk of all-cause mortality, incidence of diabetes and enhanced metabolic , musculoskeletal and mental health.

Low back pain (LBP) is an economic burden to society, leading to functional disability resulting in loss of number of days at work. Literature review state that 75% or more patients with low back become temporarily disabled and around 5% people suffer from permanent disability .

Diagnosis of mechanical low back pain is commonly made by physical examination, physical tests, palpation, imaging such as x-rays, MRI, and CT scan. Medication, physical therapy, and surgery are most commonly used managements of mechanical low back pain. The physical therapy management varies according to the patient condition, and includes modalities, exercise therapy, manual therapy and patient's education with a comprehensive home plan of care.

The individual effectiveness of manual physical therapy and core stability exercises therapy are evident in the management of mechanical low back pain, but there is no single study available in the literature on the combined effects of physical therapy and core stability exercise therapy. The objective of the current study will be to determine the combined effect of physical therapy and core stability exercise therapy in the management of mechanical low back pain.

The conventional physical therapy is a commonly used management of mechanical low back pain to improve the mobility of the lumbar spine. The core stabilization exercises for strengthening of spinal muscles to improve their ability to maintain neutral spine using the abdominal, back, neck and shoulder girdle muscles as stabilizers rather than movers. Trunk stability exercises that focus on either deep or superficial muscles might produce different effects on lumbar segmental motion .

Obesity is a complex disease that accumulated excess body fat leads to negative effects on health.

Obesity persists to accelerate resulting in an unprecedented epidemic that shows no significant signs of slowing down any time soon. Raised body mass index (BMI) is a risk factor for illness such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and musculoskeletal disorders, resulting in dramatic decrease of life quality and expectancy. The main cause of obesity is long-term energy imbalance between consumed calories and expended calories. Here, The purpose of our study is to find out the effect of core strengthening on LBP and total body fat.