Abstract
M.Tech. (Chiropractic)
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether action potential simulation (APS) therapy is more effective than placebo therapy in terms of pain relief and improvement in lumbar spine range of motion when treating chronic lumbar spine pain. The comparison of the two therapies was accomplished by objective and subjective assessments. The study was conducted by means of a double blind clinical trial with two experimental groups. Thirty subjects eighteen years of age and older who suffered from chronic lumbar spine pain were chosen from the general population who responded to the advertisements and from Tarentaal Home for the Aged. The researcher examined each of these subjects in order to be accepted into the study. Each subject was treated ten times over a two-week period and underwent a one-month follow-up consultation to be re-examined. Subjects in both groups received therapy for eight minutes at an amplitude of 1-2mA. Only the APS group received the electric current and the placebo group did not receive the electric current. The objective assessment was by means of measurement of the lumbar spine ranges of motion using an inclinometer. The subjective assessment was measured by means of two questionnaires, which are widely accepted in the research community namely:
a) Oswestry Low Back Pain and Disability Questionnaire
b) McGill Pain Questionnaire.
The results, which were obtained, were statistically analyzed using the Mann-Whitney
Rank Sum test (inter-group comparison) and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test (intra-group comparison). Graphs were created using the actual values of each patient in each group and using the medians obtained. The study concluded that both the APS and the placebo group improved in terms of lumbar spine range of motion and pain relief even though not all the results were statistically significant. The graphs representing the mean values at the first, final and one-month follow-up consultations of each group showed the apparent improvement in terms of range of motion in the lumbar spine and pain relief. The APS group's mean values, at the above mentioned consultations, showed a greater improvement in range of motion and pain relief
when being compared to the placebo group's mean values that are represented on the
respective graphs.