Motor Imagery Training in Non-Specific Low Back Pain

Summary

Low back pain is a significant global health issue, affecting a large proportion of the population at some point in their lives. Among the different types of low back pain, non-specific low back pain is the most common. Chronic low back pain has been shown to impact trunk endurance, functional capacity, fatigue, anxiety, and depression levels.

Neuroscience-based studies aimed at improving pain management have demonstrated that chronic pain is associated with not only peripheral changes but also central changes. These central changes include abnormalities in the distribution of sensory cortical processing, disinhibition of the motor cortex, and disturbances in body schema perception.

Studies have shown that motor imagery training, defined as the mental simulation of movement without actual execution, functions as a cortical-level training method and has positive effects on impaired body schema perception, thereby reducing pain. A review of the literature indicates that motor imagery training contributes to the treatment of pathological pain syndromes such as complex regional pain syndrome, brachial plexus avulsion injury, phantom limb pain, distal radius fracture, and stroke by modulating cortical mechanisms. However, no randomized controlled trials have investigated the effectiveness of adding motor imagery training to exercise therapy in individuals with non-specific chronic low back pain, specifically regarding its impact on physical function and psychosocial parameters.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of a motor imagery training protocol, applied in addition to exercise therapy, on pain, physical, and psychosocial parameters in individuals with non-specific chronic low back pain.

A total of 32 individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain will be included in the study. Participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. All participants will receive telerehabilitation-based exercise therapy under the supervision of a physiotherapist. In addition to the exercise therapy, participants in the intervention group will undergo asynchronous motor imagery training every day for eight weeks, while the control group will receive only exercise therapy.

Assessments will be conducted three times: before treatment, at the end of the 8-week intervention, and at the 12th week follow-up. All assessments will be performed through a telerehabilitation-based approach. The study will evaluate participants' pain, fatigue, disability level due to low back pain, anxiety and depression levels, and physical function.

Conditions

• Low Back Pain

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Motor imagey training

In addition to the prescribed exercise training, participants in the intervention group will follow a pre-designed motor imagery program for eight weeks, practicing daily. This program will include pre-recorded exercise videos specifically targeting the lumbar region, along with synchronized audio recordings providing detailed explanations of the exercises.

BEHAVIORAL

Exercise training

All participants will receive telerehabilitation-based exercise training under the supervision of a physiotherapist for eight weeks. The exercise program will be delivered via videoconferencing as part of a telerehabilitation-based approach. The exercises, conducted under the physiotherapist's supervision, will consist of flexibility and stabilization exercises targeting the lumbar region and will last approximately 25 minutes per session.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Istanbul Bilgi University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

55 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-03-05

Primary Completion

2025-08-01

Completion

2025-11-14

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations