To compare the effect and durability of the effect of corrective exercise and manual therapy focused on the back versus hip on disability, function, pressure pain, pain map, health and psychological status of the elderly with chronic back and hip pain: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

Abstract

This paper presents a protocol for a randomised control trial to compare the effect and durability of the effect of corrective exercise, and manual therapy focused on the back versus hip versus back and hip on disability, function, pressure pain threshold, pressure pain mapping, health and psychological status of the elderly with chronic back and hip pain. A total of 75 elderly participants will be assigned randomly into three groups, including back-focused exercises (n=25), hip-focused exercises (n=25) and back-focused and hip-focused exercises (n=25). Primary outcomes (disability and function) and secondary outcomes (pressure pain threshold, pressure pain mapping, health status and psychological factors) will be evaluated before, immediately after and 6 months after the 8 week exercise intervention. The data will be analysed using a general linear model repeated measures analysis of variance including both within and between factors (three groups*three times) with Bonferroni adjustments used as a post-hoc test at a significant level of 0.05. This trial will demonstrate whether back versus hip versus back-focused and hip-focused manual therapy can better improve the disability, function, pressure pain threshold, pressure pain mapping, health and psychological status of the elderly with chronic back and hip pain. If successful, this study's findings and information will potentially have implications for addressing back and hip pain in the elderly population by an alternative multidisciplinary approach. Trial registration number: IRCT20220911055941N1.